


Let's Pretend (We're Fine)

by Knappster



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: F/F, Tumblr Prompt, fake dating au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-27
Updated: 2017-09-08
Packaged: 2018-05-23 10:35:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 60,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6113871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Knappster/pseuds/Knappster
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stacie is a really famous actress who decides that the best way to get the media and her agent off her back is to pretend she's dating one of her friends.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: S is a super famous actress/singer person and A is one of her closest friends. The media is convinced they're dating or a thing so S decides that they're now fake dating and A is along for the ride and this is your basic fake dating prompt full with pleasing fans aka shippers and convincing friends it's real and of course costar and/or coworker jealous on both ends which ultimately leads to them realizing they have a thing for one another.

_**Running Away? Stacie Conrad moves to New York** _

_Stacie Conrad's new movie History in the Shadows will start filming in New York this summer. The Academy Award winning actress announced her involvement in the movie directed by Beca Mitchell earlier in the month._

" _Gonna be filming in New York for a while! (Might even stay there :P) #HistoryintheShadows #soexcited" she wrote on twitter earlier today._

_Sources close to the actress, however, suggest that the move was in the works even before she got the role in Mitchell's new movie. Conrad was rumored to have bought an apartment there soon after her breakup with former co-star, Australian actor Luke Stroma._

_The couple started dating officially during the promotional tour for their movie The Yellow Cradle after an on-again-off-again relationship during filming. The couple split up after Conrad received her 2nd Academy Award nomination. Despite it being announced as an amicable separation officially, unofficial sources claim Stroma resented the actress for getting nominated._

* * *

Stacie sat on the gate waiting for her flight. She rearranged her sunglasses and pulled her Steelers cap lower on her head. She knew that she wasn't exactly being inconspicuous but she hoped her celebrity in hiding look would deter people from approaching her. She tossed the magazine she'd bought at the newsstand aside and scoffed at the headline. "I'm not running away… Well not from him at least."

She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and squinted at the screen typing a quick tweet.

_**StacieConrad:**_ _Bye LA! You've been awesome but I've missed NY too much. #finallygoinghome_

After posting the tweet, she dialed Aubrey's office. She'd have a better chance to catch her there at this time, it was almost noon in New York and Aubrey didn't pick up her personal phone during business hours unless it was an emergency. Stacie had had more than one fight with her about this since she couldn't possibly know if it was an emergency unless she picked up, but Aubrey said she did.

"Aubrey Posen" Stacie smiled. Aubrey was the one who had given her the idea to move back to New York. They had met back when Stacie was doing plays on Broadway and Aubrey worked for one of the smaller movie production companies in New York. When Stacie's career took off and moved to LA they lost contact. They reconnected a few years back after Aubrey started her own production company and Stacie was cast in a role in one of the movies she was producing.

They had gotten closer after Stacie's break up with Luke, not that she'd ever call it a break up because she never thought of them as being in a real relationship. He was too self absorbed to think about anyone but himself and Stacie was too busy to fully commit to someone. The whole ordeal had only served to make Stacie realize she didn't really know who to trust in LA which made her reach out to some of her older friends, friends from before she was a big time movie actress. Friends who didn't make her have doubts about their motives.

One of these friends had been Aubrey, who had suggested a change of scenery might be good for her. The fact that her new job was filming in New York had been a godsend. Stacie bought an apartment there and decided to stay there for the foreseeable future.

"Hey, Bree. I'm waiting for my flight and I'm bored."

Aubrey chuckled. "So you called me for entertainment?"

"That and to see if we're still on for dinner tonight."

Stacie heard Aubrey shuffling papers on the other side of the line. "Of course. Do you want me to send a car to pick you up at the airport?"

Stacie pouted. "Can't you come? I hate riding back with a stranger. We can go get dinner from there."

Aubrey exhaled loudly in mock annoyance. "Fine, but you're taking me somewhere nice."

Stacie smirked. "So no hot dog carts then?"

"Gross, no. No hot dog carts."

Stacie laughed. "Good thing I'm an A-list celebrity who doesn't need to make reservations." Stacie heard them call first class for boarding. "We're boarding now. See you later?"

"Yup, meet you at the airport."

Stacie hung up and grabbed her bag, leaving the magazine on the seat and making her way towards the gate. She heard a camera shutter as she was handing her ticket to the gate agent and she pulled the brim of her cap lower before continuing to the plane.

She took a picture of the book she was reading (the latest Stephen King novel that she had picked up when she bought the magazine) and posted it on instagram.

_**StacieConrad** _ _Books are the best part of long flights! #nothingbeatsStephenKing #seeyouin5hoursNY_

She went through her Instagram feed while she waited for the rest of the passengers to board the plane. She heard a couple of girls whispering as they passed. "Is that-?" "Looks like her."

Stacie smirked but didn't look up. She didn't mind fans, she was always willing to sign an autograph or take a picture or chat with them for a while if she had time. She had an active online presence, always tweeting and Instagramming about her projects or random things about her everyday life (her agent said it made her more relatable). She had a considerable and extremely loyal fanbase which had only grown since she had come out after someone posted pictures of her kissing another girl after she got her first Oscar nomination. She had never hid her sexuality but, before that, she just hadn't been famous enough for anyone to care who she was sleeping with or what their gender was..

Her fans were amazing. It was the paparazzi that she couldn't stand. She understood that doing what she did meant that her private life wasn't exactly private, but the articles people wrote about her were seldom true. They hid behind unnamed sources, as if quoting a third party suddenly made it true. Most of the time they were people who weren't close enough to Stacie to really know anything substantial or repeating something they'd overheard with little to no context.

Stacie turned her phone off and dropped it into her bag when the flight attendant announced they were closing the cabin door. She waited to open her book until they were in the air, taking a moment to watch the city shrink away, the city she had lived in for the past seven years, and realized she wasn't gonna miss it.

* * *

"Do you want to get Thai from that new place on 47th tonight?" Chloe walked into Aubrey's office without knocking, a habit that annoyed Aubrey to no end even though she kept her door open when she wasn't in a meeting.

Aubrey looked up from the papers she was trying to finish reading before she had to leave to pick up Stacie. "I can't tonight, I'm having dinner with a friend."

"A friend, huh?" Chloe smiled devilishly and sat on the corner of Aubrey's desk. "So who is this mystery friend and where are they taking you?"

Aubrey rolled her eyes. "My _friend_ is Stacie Conrad and I don't know where we're going yet, I'm picking her up at the airport later."

Chloe squealed. "Why didn't you tell me you were going out with her? I mean, I knew you guys talked sometimes but I didn't know she'd asked you out."

"It's not a date! We're having a friendly dinner and that's it. I haven't even seen her since she was here last year for the Tribeca Film Festival."

"Oh yeah, she was in that weird short." Chloe nodded and scrunched up her nose. "I don't get why she still does those weird independent films when she could be in literally any movie she wants."

Aubrey shrugged. She was clearly not going to finish reading this contract before she had to go so she closed the folder and put it in her briefcase. "I think it's nice that she takes the time to do projects she actually believes in and not any movie just because of what she could earn or because it would raise her profile."

Chloe batted her eyelashes. "Do you also think she's pretty and smart and that she has amazing legs?"

Aubrey blinked confused. "Well, yes but everyone thinks that. I don't see how that's relevant." Chloe raised her eyebrows and her smile widened. "No, Chloe. I've known her for ages, it's not like that. We're just friends."

Chloe frowned and hopped off the desk. "Fine, if you say so." She walked around Aubrey's desk. "Oh, there's a guy in my crossfit class you'd totes like! I can totally set you up."

Aubrey groaned and stood up to gather her things. "No, Chlo. You know I hate blind dates. I don't understand why you think my love life is your responsibility, I don't set you up with random strangers all the time."

"That's because I don't need help meeting people, when was the last time you had sex?"

Aubrey rolled her eyes and walked to the door with Chloe following close behind. "Life isn't just about sex."

"It makes it better, though." They stopped in front of the elevator and Aubrey pushed the button repeatedly. "Come on, Bree, it's just one date. If you don't like him you never have to see him again."

The elevator finally opened and Aubrey went in with Chloe. "Fine, whatever. Lunch or coffee date and somewhere far from my apartment, I don't want him to know where I live."

Chloe followed Aubrey to the car already waiting for her in front of the building. "I'll ask him and let you know. Have fun on your friend date."

Aubrey leaned her head back on the seat and sighed. It wasn't that she didn't want a relationship, she just hated the whole part before you could have a relationship. She hated the awkwardness and pressure of first dates, she wished she could just fast forward to the part when she knew everything about the other person and was sure that they liked her.

Besides, every single person Chloe had set her up with had been horrible. Chloe had very different tastes than her, and while she appreciated good looking people, she was looking for something more than just that. She wanted someone who she could really connect with, not just have sex. But Chloe was relentless and when she got something in her head, she didn't stop until she accomplished it.

Aubrey opened her briefcase and took out her contract, deciding to put her impending blind date in the furthest corner of her mind and focus on work for the rest of the ride to JFK. They were almost there when she looked back up again so she put the contract back in her briefcase and waited for the car to pullover.

She checked the arrivals board and saw Stacie's flight had already landed so she made her way to baggage claim. She found her checking her phone and waiting for her bag. Stacie hadn't seen her yet so she walked up behind her. "Hi, I was wondering if I could get an autograph."

"Sure, what's your-" Stacie turned around with a smile that widened when she saw it was Aubrey. "You know, I'm not against signing boobs."

Aubrey laughed and rolled her eyes. "How many times does that line actually work?"

"Surprisingly many." Stacie wiggled her eyebrows. "You don't wanna know how many boobs I've left my mark on, and not just with a pen."

Aubrey shook her head. "I really don't."

They looked at each other smiling for a few seconds before Stacie took a step forward and engulfed Aubrey in a hug. "Hi."

Aubrey chuckled and squeezed Stacie back. "Hi. How was your flight?"

"Uneventful. I'm starving." Stacie let Aubrey go and turned to see if her bag was coming. "Where do you wanna go?"

"There's a new place I've been meaning to try. It's an Asian fusion thing, it's getting great reviews."

Stacie moved forward to pick up her suitcase. "Sounds great."

Aubrey offered to help her with her carry on and led her back to the car while Stacie talked about all the things she had missed about New York and how excited she was about being there again.

Aubrey told Stacie about the latest project she's been working on on their way to the restaurant, pausing their conversation when they got there. The restaurant was packed making Stacie frown, thinking that not even her celebrity status might get them a table. She walked up to the hostess and smiled sweetly. "Hi, table for two?"

The girl didn't look up. "Name of the reservation?"

"Oh, I just got into the city and a friend recommended this place. I didn't have time to make a reservation." The hostess looked up with an annoyed look until she recognized Stacie and her eyes widened. "But I totally get it if you don't have a table, I can tell that you're super busy."

Stacie waited three seconds before taking a step back. "Wait, I think I can get you a table, Miss Conrad. Let me check our cancellations. Do you mind waiting five minutes?"

"Of course not, take your time." Stacie winked at her and walked back to where Aubrey was standing. "Five minutes."

Aubrey pursed her lips. "You can be really useful sometimes, Conrad. I should take you out more often. Mario Batali's new restaurant just opened and it's impossible to get a reservation, we should go there next week."

Stacie gasped. "Are you using me for my fame?"

"If we're gonna have dinner anyway, there's no reason why we can't go somewhere good." Aubrey shrugged.

Stacie chuckled. "At least you're being honest about it."

The hostess came back and led them to a table near the side of the room, apologizing profusely about making them wait even though it had taken less than the five minutes she said it would. If Aubrey didn't know any better she would have thought that she kicked out whoever was sitting at that table to make room for them.

They settled into easy conversation after they ordered. Aubrey thought it funny that they had always been extremely comfortable with each other, especially considering the circumstances of their meeting more than ten years ago and how much they had changed since then.

_Aubrey had been dragged to a party by her boyfriend. She didn't want to go, she had just ended an 80 hour work week with her boss from hell and she just wanted to go home and sleep. But he had wanted to go to a party one at one of his friend's apartments in the Village. Apparently his off-off-Broadway play had just opened and he had invited all his castmates. Her boyfriend wasn't in the play but he had been in another show with a bunch of the actors and he'd told her they'd just drop by for an hour and leave._

_Aubrey had been nursing the same beer for more than an hour, listening to some girl's boring story when she realized she hadn't seen her boyfriend in a while. She decided to try to find him, which didn't seem hard since it was a really small apartment, except he wasn't in the living room or the kitchen, and she'd just seen someone stumble out of the bathroom. The only other place she hadn't looked was the bedroom but she wasn't one to go around poking into other people's bedrooms._

_She was about to give up and go home, and definitely breaking up with the guy, when she heard a loud thump against the bedroom door and someone giggling. She narrowed her eyes and opened the door only to find her boyfriend making out with some girl against the wall next to the door._

" _What the fuck?"_

_The couple stopped kissing and turned to her. The girl quickly straightened up her dress and wiped her smeared lipstick. He gave her a sheepish smile. "It's not what it looks like?"_

_Aubrey huffed and turned around, making her way out of the apartment and down the stairs. She stopped for a moment outside, letting the cool night air calm her down a bit before she started walking to the subway._

" _Hey, wait!" She turned around and saw the girl her boyfriend had been making out with running to catch her. She quirked her eyebrow but stopped._

_The girl stopped in front of her and took a moment to catch her breath. "I didn't know he was here with someone, I wouldn't have- I'm sorry."_

_Aubrey knit her eyebrows confused and looked at the girl. She was really pretty and really young, probably not even 21. She saw her shuffle on her feet nervously and Aubrey realized she hadn't said anything back. "Don't worry about it, you saved me from wasting more time with that dicklick."_

_The girl chuckled and Aubrey felt herself smile a little at the sight. She was about to turn back around and leave when the girl spoke again. "There's a diner a couple of blocks down that has the best milkshakes, do you want one? It's on me, I mean, it's the least I can do after I made out with your boyfriend."_

_Aubrey didn't understand this girl at all but she felt like it would be worth it to figure her out. "Sure."_

_They started walking down the block. After a minute of silence the girl turned to Aubrey. "I'm Stacie by the way."_

" _Aubrey."_

Stacie grabbed the check and slipped her credit card inside. "What are you doing? You don't have to pay."

Stacie kept it out of Aubrey's reach until the waiter walked over and took it away. "I know I don't have to but this is my way of thanking you for suggesting I come back here. And for being my friend all these years."

Aubrey tried to glare at her but she ended up smiling. "I'm getting the next one."

Stacie grinned triumphantly. "Okay."


	2. Chapter 2

_**Stacie Conrad Out to Conquer NYC** _

_It's been three weeks since Stacie Conrad moved to New York City and it looks she's trying to get it renamed from the city that never sleeps to the city that sleeps around. She has already been photographed making out with half a dozen different people, and leaving with at least half of them._

_This behavior is not entirely surprising coming from the actress. Just last year, even though she was dating Luke Stroma for half of it, she was seen with enough people she could have started her own football team (if football was co-ed)._

_Looks like she's trying to make up for the time she was off the market. Look out New York, it looks like Miss Conrad is on a mission._

* * *

Stacie walked in the door and smiled at the girl behind the reception's desk. "Hi, I'm-"

"Stacie Conrad! Of course I know who you are. I'll take you back." The girl, a tall brunette, started walking towards the back of the building so Stacie walked after her. "Almost everyone is here already."

"Oh, am I late?" Stacie took out her phone to look at the time. She was sure she had left with enough time.

"No! You're not, everyone's just a bit early. Beca isn't here yet." She turned a corner and Stacie had to walk faster to keep up. "I'm Beca's personal assistant, so if you need anything feel free to let me know. She's pretty low maintenance so I don't really have a lot to do aside from keeping her calendar."

"Thanks. I don't think I caught your name."

"Oh, right. Sorry. I'm Emily." The girl said with a big smile on her face.

She turned again and, when Stacie wasn't sure she could find her way back out again, she opened a set of double doors into a large room with a lot of people. "Beca should get here soon to kick things off, do you need a copy of the script?"

Stacie lifted her bag. "No, thanks. I have my copy."

"Awesome! Well if you need anything else I'll be around."

"Thanks." Stacie took a step further into the room and Emily closed the doors behind her.

Stacie took a moment to take in her surroundings. Most people were gathered around a catering table, she recognized a few of the other actors but she hadn't worked with any of them before.

She walked towards the table but someone behind her stopped her. "Stacie Conrad." She turned around. "I'm really excited about working with you. I'm Jesse."

Stacie took the offered hand and smiled. "I know. I'm excited about working with you too." Stacie released his hand and took a step back. "Hey, so you've worked with Beca before, right? What's she like?"

"Oh she's super cool." Jesse smiled. "I mean, she's not gonna be your best friend or anything, but she's really good at her job and she's not one of those stuck up directors who just yells at you until you get it right."

Stacie nodded and was about to ask him something else when he interrupted her. "Do you want to maybe go somewhere tonight? Get a drink or something."

Stacie frowned at him, unsure what to make of his invitation. "Is this a date or…?"

"Would you say no if it was?" He smiled and tilted his head in a way that Stacie was sure many people found attractive but not her.

"I'm not really dating people right now. And even if I was, I don't date people I'm working with, it's too messy." Stacie shrugged apologetically. "But we should definitely do something sometime, you know as a group, with everyone.

The doors opened behind Jesse and Beca came in followed by Emily talking a mile a minute. Stacie exhaled a loud breath, thankful for the interruption.

Everyone stopped talking and turned to face the director. She took a look around the room and gave them a small smile. "Hey guys, welcome to our first official day. We're just gonna go over the script once, I wanna tell you my thoughts on some specific things so you can start getting an idea on how we're going to work. Emily will give you your personalized schedules when we're done, we start filming in a week so we don't have a lot of time."

Everyone finished getting food and coffee and took their places at the table in the middle of the room. They went around introducing themselves and what their job was, talking briefly about their previous projects.

Most of the crew wasn't there, only the head of each department, but Stacie was pleasantly surprised to see that they were mostly women. After they were done with the introductions, they started reading the script. Beca and the screenwriter talked a little bit about each scene first and then they each read their parts. Beca sometimes interrupted a scene to add something that she thought was important.

When they were done, Emily gave everyone their schedule and Stacie noticed she had a few hours before she had to meet with wardrobe. She went over to where Beca was sitting checking her phone. "Hey."

Beca looked at her over her phone and nodded. "Hi."

"I wanted to know if you were free for lunch, I was hoping we could get to know each other a bit and that I could maybe pick your brain about my character?"

Beca quirked an eyebrow. People usually didn't ask her to lunch. It wasn't that people were scared of her, but most of the people she worked with knew she didn't just hang out with them when they weren't working. But talking to Stacie about her character now might save time later and she didn't really have another plan for lunch. "Umm sure, I just need to talk to Emily about some things. Meet me at the lobby in fifteen?"

Stacie grinned. "Perfect."

Stacie and Beca walked to a restaurant down the street. It was late enough so they had missed most of the lunch crowd so they were almost alone. They picked a table by the back and waited until they ordered to start talking about the movie.

After a while, they moved on from the movie and shared some stories about themselves. Stacie was surprised that Beca was this friendly after what Jesse had told her about her. Although having lunch and swapping a few 'being a woman in show business is hard' stories doesn't exactly make you someone's best friend.

They were still talking almost two hours later when Beca's cell phone rang. "Hey, Em... Yeah, I'm still having lunch with Stacie... Oh, sure I'll tell her... Thanks, Em."

Beca hung up and looked at Stacie. "Emily says you were supposed to be in wardrobe 10 minutes ago."

"Shit." Stacie stood up and hesitated.

Beca chuckled. "I've got this, go."

"Thanks!" she yelled before sprinting out of the restaurant.

* * *

"Aubrey?" Aubrey looked up from the book she was reading and smiled at the guy standing in front of her who was looking back at her with a small frown.

"Yes, hi. You must be Pete." She stood up and held out her hand. Pete looked at her for another second before taking a step forward and taking her hand.

He gave her a tight lipped smile. "Sorry, it's just that Chloe said you were hot so I thought you'd be more like her kind of hot." Aubrey's eyebrow arched. "Not that you're not hot, you're just not what I was expecting."

Aubrey sat back. "Well you're exactly what I was expecting. Do you want to get something to drink?"

"Oh I don't drink coffee, I don't drink anything with caffeine really. Gotta keep my body clean." Aubrey nodded and took a sip from her coffee cup. "Just water and low fructose juices."

Aubrey started to wonder how long she'd have to stay here without being rude. "So, Chloe tells me you're in advertising?"

He chuckled. "Yeah, I guess you can call it that. I hand out fliers in Times Square. Comedy shows, Broadway, adult… stuff." Aubrey took a longer sip of her coffee to keep her grimace from showing. "But I'm actually saving up to open my own business."

Aubrey lowered her cup to the table and sat forward, not having expected that. "Really? What kind of business?"

"A raw milk bar."

Aubrey shook her head confused. "Raw milk bar?"

"Yeah, like this place but instead of selling coffee I'd sell raw milk drinks." He smiled broadly. "There are a lot of proven benefits to drinking raw milk over pasteurized milk."

"Like tuberculosis?" Aubrey said under her breath but smiled and nodded at him. He went on listing all the benefits of raw milk and Aubrey stopped listening. He didn't seem to notice, and if he did, he didn't seem to care.

Her phone rang after the longest thirty minutes of her life, in which Aubrey alternated between picking a movie to watch with Stacie tonight and nodding at Pete, who was now talking about all the marathons he'd ran and hadn't once asked her anything about her. Aubrey picked up without checking who it was and smiled apologetically at him. "Aubrey Posen."

"You know, you don't have to answer with your name every time, I know it's you, I called you."

Aubrey had to force herself not to smile and frown instead. "Oh my god, are you okay?"

"Umm yeah… I was just calling to tell you that I just left work and I'm going home so you can just get there whenever."

"Of course, I'll be right there." Aubrey stood up and hung up the phone. "I'm so sorry, but it's an emergency."

The guy had the decency to at least fake looking disappointed. "Oh, sure."

He stood up and was about to say something when Aubrey cut him off. "I really should go, bye."

Aubrey ran out of the coffee shop and took out her phone to call Stacie. "Hey, did the aliens bring you back?"

Aubrey frowned confused. "What?"

Stacie giggled. "You were acting crazy."

"Oh yeah, sorry. Bad date. I'll tell you about it later." She hailed a cab and got in, giving the driver her address.

"You need to tell Chloe to stop setting you up." Stacie laughed. "So when are you getting here?"

"I'm just gonna go home and change. Do you want me to bring something?"

Stacie hummed. "I don't know if I have popcorn, bring popcorn."

"Okay, see you in a bit."

* * *

"I can't believe he said that." Stacie said and opened her mouth. Aubrey launched a popcorn kernel in a perfect arc.

The popcorn missed Stacie's mouth and bounced off her nose. Stacie scrunched up her nose and turned to pick it up and put it on the coffee table next to the growing mountain of popcorn that had fallen to the floor. "I know, it was awful."

Stacie grabbed a fistfull of popcorn, throwing one back at Aubrey and smirking when it landed in the blonde's mouth. "So when are you seeing him again?"

Aubrey glared at her and threw another popcorn kernel, this time hitting Stacie's cheek. "You're making a mess."

"I'm making a mess? You're the one who keeps missing." Stacie stood up to pick up the fallen kernel, grabbing the rest of the discarded popcorn and taking it to the trash.

"I wouldn't miss if you stopped moving." Stacie rolled her eyes at Aubrey's excuse and sat back on her side of the couch.

"Okay, I won't move this time." She opened her mouth as wide as she could and waited. Aubrey threw the popcorn and, just as it was going to finally land in Stacie's mouth, the brunette's phone rang and she turned her head towards it.

"You moved!" Aubrey slapped her arm as Stacie moved to grab her phone.

Stacie stuck her tongue out at the blonde and looked at the caller ID. "Stacie Conrad, how may I service you?"

"Stacie, please stop answering your phone like that." The actress' agent said on the other side of the line in an exasperated tone.

Stacie chuckled. "You're no fun, Gail. What's up?"

Gail sighed heavily and Stacie knew it wasn't good. "Stacie, you know I love you like a daughter. Hell, I love you more than my own kids."

"I really hope you're not at home right now." Stacie sat back on the couch and reached for the popcorn, frowning when Aubrey slapped her hand away.

"They know you're my favorite, they've accepted it." Gail deadpanned. "God knows why since you're making me age prematurely."

"What did I do now?" Stacie pouted at Aubrey and she pushed the popcorn bowl her way.

"I take it you haven't seen the story on you sleeping your way around New York City?"

Stacie rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry, I've been working all day. I haven't had time to pick up today's copy of whatever trashy tabloid printed that."

"That's exactly my point, Stacie. Today was your first day working on this movie, and did anyone talk about it? No, they just printed a photo reel of your tongue down half a dozen people's throats." Gail paused even though she knew she wasn't gonna get an apology from the other girl. "Look, I'm not telling you to stop having fun. Just be a little bit more discreet about it."

Stacie frowned. "Yes, mom."

"Good girl." Gail went from annoyed to cheery in a second. "If you get through a month of good press I'll even raise your allowance."

"Very funny. I'm hanging up now."

"I love you too, Stace." Gail said in a singsong voice before hanging up first.

Stacie put down her phone and crossed her arms. She didn't really care about what people wrote about her, but Gail never butted into her personal life unless she thought it was hurting her career. She had only slept with one person since she got here, all the other people were just random hook ups at clubs that never went further than heavy make-out sessions against the wall or in the back of a taxi.

Aubrey nudged her, aware of her current displeasure. "What happened?"

Stacie sighed and looked at Aubrey. "Apparently someone wrote a story about me hooking up with people and Gail thinks it's distracting people from my work."

"Well she has a point." Stacie's frowned deepened and she unconsciously scooted away from Aubrey.

"Any male actor could screw the Rockettes on stage and no one would bat an eyelash."

"I didn't say it was fair, but being a woman in this industry means that 80% of people are gonna care more about how you look and who you're doing than about your work." Aubrey moved to sit closer to Stacie. "You know I'm on your side, and I'm in no way judging you, but it wouldn't hurt if you weren't so public about your dalliances."

Stacie grumbled. "Fine." She pushed Aubrey to the other side of the couch and lay down her head on her lap. Aubrey's hand immediately moved to smooth back her hair. "Can we watch the movie now?"

Aubrey smiled down at her as she felt her lean towards her touch and relax. "Sure."


	3. Chapter 3

_**From Movie Producer to Hunter Tamer** _

_Seems like Stacie Conrad has found a new reason to stay on the "straight" and narrow: movie producer Aubrey Posen. The couple has been spotted having dinner at various top end restaurants in the past month. And, while Conrad has still maintained an active nightlife, she has kept her outings on the chaste side._

_Has Aubrey Posen managed to do what many have tried and finally tamed the self proclaimed hunter that is Stacie Conrad? Just this weekend they were spotted looking really cozy in Central Park, and we have to admit they look really good together._

_After a picture Conrad tweeted of them with a group of fans, social media has been exploding with speculation on the new couple. Some people have even started calling them Staubrey._

_We're still waiting on either of them to comment but from the pictures below, we suspect we'll get confirmation soon._

* * *

Stacie bounced excitedly as they made their way out of the museum. "Can you believe that huge thing existed? Like can you even think about it? I mean, it was 122 feet long."

Stacie had convinced Aubrey to go with her to see the new Titanosaur skeleton the Museum of Natural History had added earlier that year. Aubrey thought it was funny how excited Stacie had been about it and even snapped a picture of Stacie's awed face when she saw the huge dinosaur head.

Stacie grabbed Aubrey's hand and pulled her across the street. "I know, can you imagine if that thing stepped on you?"

Stacie stopped when she got to the sidewalk and frowned at Aubrey. "You know humans and dinosaurs never coexisted, right? It couldn't have stepped on anyone."

She turned back around and made her way to a soft serve truck next to the park wall. Aubrey rolled her eyes and followed her. "I know. I'm just saying, if they had and someone was around…" Aubrey made a squishing sound.

Stacie chuckled and shook her head. She bought two ice cream cones and they walked into the park to eat them. They stopped and sat on the first shaded bench they found to finish off their ice cream.

She was still prattling on about dinosaurs when a group of ten teenage girls tentatively approached them. One of them took a step forward and smiled shily at Stacie. "Hi… Umm… Sorry to bother you but umm, we were wondering if you could sign an autograph?"

Stacie smiled widely at her and stood up. "Sure, what's your name?"

"Kate." The girl handed a pen and paper to Stacie. The rest of the girls seemed encouraged by their friend's successful interaction and moved closer asking for autographs too.

Aubrey watched with a smile as Stacie nodded at everything the girls told her, asking them questions about where they were from and if they were enjoying their visit to New York.

One of the girls asked for a picture and suddenly the rest of the girls started asking for one too. Stacie looked around, trying to figure out how this was gonna work when Aubrey stood up and put a hand on her arm. "Why don't you take a group picture and post it on twitter? That way everyone can have it."

The suggestion was received by a chorus of excited chatter as the girls thought about being able to show people that _the_ Stacie Conrad had tweeted a picture with them. Stacie gave her a relieved smile and took out her phone.

Aubrey was about to take the phone when one of the adults in charge of the group of girls walked over and offered to take the picture. Stacie walked back and grabbed Aubrey, pulling her to the center of the group of girls and telling her to smile.

Stacie took back her phone and the girls all thanked her effusively before walking away with huge smiles on her faces.

Stacie sat back down and started composing the tweet when she noticed Aubrey staring at her with a small smile. "What?"

"You're really good with fans."

Stacie shrugged. "It's part of the job. I wouldn't really have a job if people weren't willing to pay to see me." She went back to her tweet. "I remember being their age and looking up to someone. I would've been crushed if I ever met them and they were less than nice."

Stacie finished typing and showed the tweet to Aubrey. "What do you think?"

_**StacieConrad** Enjoying the park with old and new friends._

"Hey, who are you calling old?" Aubrey glared at her but chuckled when she saw the picture. Stacie had one arm around her shoulders and was giving bunny ears to the girl standing in front of her. The girl next to Stacie was looking at her suppressing a laugh.

Aubrey handed Stacie her phone back so she could send the tweet and leaned back on the bench. "What do you wanna do now?"

Stacie put her phone back in her pocket and put on her sunglasses. It was a gorgeous day and the sun filtered through the leaves of the tree above them. She leaned her head against Aubrey's shoulder and closed her eyes. "Nap?"

Aubrey moved her arm from under Stacie and put it on the back of the bench. "And after that?"

"Shh you're ruining it." Stacie moved her hand up to try to cover her mouth but Aubrey squirmed away to the end of the bench making Stacie sit up.

Stacie pouted at her and Aubrey rolled her eyes, patting her lap. The brunette smiled and lay her head on Aubrey's thigh and pulled her feet up on the bench. Aubrey purposefully put her arm on Stacie's face, getting her back for trying to cover her mouth.

"I can't breathe." Stacie mumbled against Aubrey's arm pulling it down. She grabbed Aubrey's hand and draped her arm over her waist.

She gave a contented sigh and Aubrey chuckled. "Are you comfortable?"

Stacie lifted her sunglasses with her free hand and looked up at Aubrey. "Are you?"

Aubrey shrugged noncommittally. "I'm okay."

Stacie let her sunglasses fall over her eyes again and closed her eyes. "Good, now let me sleep."

* * *

Stacie looked at the time on her phone and stretched out on the couch she'd been napping on. She still had some time before she had to be on set so she closed her eyes again and relaxed.

She heard a loud knock on the door of her trailer and groaned "Come in!"

The door opened and Beca stepped inside. "Hey, nerd."

Stacie moved her feet so Beca could sit. "Hey."

They had become friends over the past few weeks, and while Stacie hadn't been overly smug about it to Jesse, she could see her co-star wasn't entirely happy about it. Whenever he saw them together he tried to join their conversation, which is why they opted to hang out at Stacie's trailer more these days.

"So when are you bringing your girlfriend over?"

Stacie's brow furrowed with confusion. "What girlfriend?"

"Aubrey Posen?" Stacie raised her eyebrows, not knowing where Beca got that Aubrey was her girlfriend. She didn't think she'd mentioned her to Beca.

Beca took out her phone and fiddled with it for a minute before handing it to Stacie. "Emily showed me this earlier. She was looking at it and grinning like a crazy person."

Stacie sat up and took the phone scanning through the article. She smirked when she got to the bottom and saw the pictures of them in Central Park. Whoever took the pictures must have been standing near the park entrance.

Stacie was lying on Aubrey's lap in most of them with one of Aubrey's hands on her head and the other on her stomach. The blonde must have been telling her something because Stacie was laughing in at least three of the pictures. The last picture made her laugh. A leaf had fallen off the tree and landed on Aubrey's hair and Stacie had reached up to get it off. Aubrey had ducked her head and it looked like she was leaning down to kiss her.

"She's not my girlfriend." Stacie said as she passed the phone back to Beca.

"Well you look pretty comfortable with each other. And you've been complaining about the press making you look like some kind of man-eating, womanizing…" Beca drifted off not really sure how to end her sentence.

Stacie pursed her lips in thought. Having people believe she was with someone could actually be beneficial for her. The press would stop talking about her sleeping around and start focusing more on her career, Gail would get off her back about it and maybe she could finally talk to her about doing a play.

Aubrey would be a whole different issue. She didn't know how she was gonna talk her into telling people they were together. She was sure Aubrey would think it was a ridiculous plan, especially if they had to sustain the lie for a long period of time. And while she knew Aubrey would do a lot of things for her, she thought that maybe asking for this was too much.

She realized that, whatever Aubrey said, outright denying her relationship right now would make it harder to convincingly sell it later so she decided to lie. "I mean, she's not my girlfriend officially. We're just hanging out, seeing where things go."

Stacie took comfort in the fact the she wasn't really lying to Beca. She was just implying things that weren't completely true. But she wasn't responsible for other people's interpretations of what she said.

She knew she could have told her about her plan, and maybe she would have pointed out the idiocy of it. But even though she did think of the director as her friend, she hadn't really known her for that long and she wasn't sure she could trust her not to tell anyone.

Besides, it was easier to tell Beca they hadn't worked out if Aubrey said no, than explaining why she was now dating the girl she so vehemently claimed was just her friend if she said yes.

"Oh… how long have you been going out?"

Stacie figured the truth would be easier to remember. "We kinda reconnected after I broke up with Luke and we started hanging out when I moved here."

"And…" Beca nodded for her to continue.

"And I don't know! We haven't really talked about making it official." Stacie wanted to stop talking about it, at least until she got a chance to speak with Aubrey. "I better go get my hair and make-up started if you wanna start filming by five."

Stacie left her trailer and walked over to where the hair and make-up team was. She sat on her usual chair waiting for Jessica to get all the things she needed and took out her phone and sending a text to Aubrey.

_**[Stacie 15:49]:** Hey, wanna do something tonight?_

She took a selfie with Jessica standing behind her teasing her hair and instagrammed it.

_**StacieConrad** Where the real magic happens. JesstyleNYC #historyintheshadows_

Stacie's phone vibrated as she was putting it down and she picked it back up.

_**[Bree work 15:52]:** Why are you texting my work phone?_  
_**[Bree work 15:52]:** And yes, call me when you're done._

Stacie chuckled. She knew she wasn't supposed to text that phone but it was kind of an emergency.

_**[Stacie 15:53]:** I wanted to know before I started filming. *pouts* I'll call you later._

Stacie put her phone down and smiled at Jessica. "Sorry about that, just making plans for later."

"Aubrey Posen?" Stacie quirked an eyebrow at her. "Emily's been gushing about 'Staubrey' all day."

Stacie frowned at the moniker. She didn't understand why people had to give names to everything. Jessica kept doing her hair. "You're cute together."

"Yeah, we are." Stacie smiled and nodded.

* * *

Chloe strode into Aubrey's office and placed a tablet in front of her. "What's this?"

Aubrey looked at Chloe confused. The redhead nodded at the tablet and pushed it closer. Aubrey picked it up and frowned. It was the picture of her and Stacie at the park that looked like they were about to kiss.

"That's me and Stacie at the park the other day?" Aubrey shook her head confused and swiped through the rest of the pictures. "Where did you even get these?"

"It's all over the internet!" Chloe picked up the tablet again and did a quick google search of 'Staubrey' and scrolled down, reading the headlines out loud. "'Staubrey: Hollywood's New Power Couple', 'Is Stacie Conrad Finally Settling Down?', and my personal favorite, 'From Producer to Hunter Tamer'"

"Staubrey?"

"It's your ship name. Stacie and Aubrey." She pressed her hands together in front of her face. "Staubrey."

She went back to her tablet and started swiping frantically. "There's like a million pictures of you! Why didn't you tell me about this?"

"About what? There's nothing to tell! That picture was completely taken out of context."

Chloe looked at her skeptically. "So you weren't on a date and that-" She pointed at the picture. "-did not lead up to a kiss?"

Aubrey rolled her eyes. She hated when the press made up stories but it annoyed her even more that Chloe believed it. "If they had a picture of us kissing it would be there."

Chloe took a moment to consider it and then nodded.

Convinced Chloe would let the matter drop now, she turned back to her computer to continue working. Chloe was walking out when her tablet chimed so she stopped to look at it. "Oh my god." She walked back to Aubrey and hit her arm. "Oh my god!"

Aubrey whined and pulled away. "Why are you freaking out now?"

Chloe passed her the tablet again. This time it was open on Stacie's twitter.

_**@StacieConrad:**_ _You make me dance like a fool, forget how to breathe, shine like gold, buzz like a bee. Just the thought of you can drive me wild._

"That's a song, Chloe. It doesn't mean anything."

Chloe shook her head. "It's obviously about you! Why would she tweet that today? She must know about the pictures and the stories."

Aubrey stood up and grabbed Chloe by the shoulders, turning her around and pushing her out of her office. "Okay, I'm done having this conversation and I have a lot of work."

"But Aub-" Aubrey closed the door cutting Chloe off and shook her head. She would never understand how someone who worked in show business believed any of the crap those people wrote. Especially when the person they were writing about was there telling her it wasn't true.

She wondered briefly if Stacie had meant anything by that tweet but immediately dismissed it as Stacie being Stacie. She probably just wanted to mess with people and make them think there was something going on between them. She rolled her eyes. She'd have to talk to her about denying it when she saw her later.

* * *

Aubrey started unpacking the containers of Chinese food from the bags she'd picked up on her way home. Stacie had called her earlier and they had decided to just have dinner at her place. She was looking for a corkscrew when she heard the knock on the door and went to open it.

"Hey!" She smiled at Stacie who managed a nervous half smile in return.

"Hi." Stacie went in, dropping her purse on the table by the door and making her way into the apartment.

Aubrey walked back to the kitchen to get things ready for dinner. When she came out with their plates and utensils, Stacie was still standing by the door.

Aubrey looked at her, tilting her head with an amused smile. "Are you coming or…?" Stacie took a step forward and hesitated, opening her mouth and closing it a couple of times with a frown. "Stace, what is it?"

Stacie started moving again, walking to the table and sitting. She stared at her plate for a moment before turning to look at Aubrey. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Okay." Aubrey chuckled confused at Stacie's attitude not really understanding what was happening. And then she remembered her conversation with Chloe. "Is this about the 'Staubrey' thing? I don't care, I know the press twists things up. We should probably say something about it before it gets out of hand though." Aubrey started serving food on her plate with a shrug.

"I don't want to deny it."

Aubrey's fork slipped out of her hand and into the container. She looked at Stacie, her brow wrinkling with confusion. "What do you mean?"

Stacie sat up straight. "Okay, I'm gonna ask you something and I need you to hear me out before you respond." Aubrey quirked an eyebrow at her but stayed silent. "I think we could use this little misunderstanding to our advantage. I mean, if people think I'm seriously dating someone then maybe they'll stop talking about other things and start talking about my work."

Aubrey stayed silent with an unreadable look on her face that was making Stacie very nervous. "I know that fake dating is probably not the best way to fix my image problem, but I don't see how it would hurt."

She looked at Aubrey and bit her lip. Aubrey blinked a couple of times trying to understand what Stacie was suggesting. "You want us to make people believe we're dating." Stacie nodded. "Was that what your tweet was about? Making people think 'I drive you wild'?" Aubrey made air quotes and frowned.

"I know I should've talked to you about it first, but I wanted to take advantage of the momentum of the story." Aubrey shook her head not really knowing how to wrap her head around what Stacie was suggesting. "It would be good for you too! Chloe will stop trying to set you up if you're already with someone."

"You want me to lie to Chloe?"

"We can't tell anyone it's not true if we want it to work."

Aubrey picked her fork from inside the container and set it on her plate. "Why me? You could get some random girl or guy to actually date you, you don't need to fake date anyone."

"Because I don't want to actually date anyone." Stacie whined. "And people already think we're together, we wouldn't really have to change anything. We'd hang out as usual, maybe take a couple of cutesy pictures every now and then, go to events together." Stacie shifted on her chair took Aubrey's hand. "And there's no one else I would trust to do this with besides you."

Aubrey took back her hand and crossed her arms. "I don't know, Stacie."

"It'll be fun! And the moment you want to end it we'll tell people we're breaking up. No questions asked." Stacie pouted at her.

Aubrey narrowed her eyes. "Don't give me that look."

"What look?" Stacie asked, knowing full well what Aubrey meant.

"That 'I'm adorable even when I just made out with your boyfriend' look." Stacie smiled knowing Aubrey wouldn't be joking if she wasn't warming up to the idea.

Aubrey sighed loudly. "Okay, but we won't make it official until I say so. And the moment I don't feel comfortable with this we end it."

Stacie's smile widened. "Definitely."


	4. Chapter 4

_**Staubrey Is Real** _

_Stacie Conrad and Aubrey Posen attended Fat Amy's clothing line launch last night and we had a chance to chat with the actress. Between expressing her excitement over her friend's new line and talking about the movie she's filming (History in the Shadows directed by Beca Mitchell) we got confirmation on her new relationship with the movie producer._

" _We've been friends for a long time so we're very comfortable with each other, she's always been there for me. But we've been living in different places for so long that we never really thought about being together." Conrad said when asked about the producer. "We just started going out officially, but whatever happens, I know I'll always have her in my life."_

* * *

Aubrey was still not sure about this. They had decided Stacie would visit her at work today to "surprise" her. Everything had sounded easy enough the night before, but she didn't know if she could pull this off convincingly. She wasn't sure she would be able to consistently lie to everyone for god knows how long. And everyone wasn't only Chloe and the people in her life, there were millions of people interested in Stacie and what she did, and Aubrey would have to lie to them too.

If it had been anyone else Aubrey would've said no immediately. But it was Stacie and, for some reason she didn't quite fully understand, her rules didn't really apply to Stacie. From the moment she agreed to let her buy her a milkshake, she had never been able to say no to her. And the truth was she had never really wanted to say no to her. Even now, when she was dreading having to put on an act for the entire world, she still wanted to do it. She wanted to help Stacie and she preferred to hang out with her than go on dates with other people. But wanting to do something and actually pulling it off were very different things.

Stacie wasn't worried. She was an actress, pretending to be something she wasn't was her job. They didn't have a script but, even though she had never really considered doing comedy, she had done some improv when she was younger and she was good thinking on her feet. The fact that it was with Aubrey only made it easier. Now hanging out with her best friend had an extra perk.

On the way to Aubrey's office she stopped to buy a bouquet of her favorite flowers, oriental lilies. She texted Aubrey she was there and went up to her floor, walking straight to the front desk. "Hi, I'm looking for Aubrey Posen."

The receptionist hesitated before asking, "Do you have an appointment?"

"No, you see," Stacie leaned forward and lowered her voice conspiratorially. "I wanted to surprise her, so she doesn't know I'm coming. But she'll be happy to see me... I hope."

The girl looked at the bouquet Stacie was holding and smiled. "Her office is the last one on the right."

Stacie beamed at her. "Thanks."

She was reaching Aubrey's office when she stepped out. "What are you doing here?"

Stacie quickly hid the flowers behind her back and skipped forward. "Hello to you too."

Aubrey rolled her eyes but she was smiling. "Hi, Stacie. You didn't tell me you were coming."

"If I had told you it wouldn't have been a surprise." Stacie smirked and took a step back, bringing the flowers in front of her. "I got you these."

The look of surprise on Aubrey's face was real. They hadn't said anything about Stacie bringing flowers, and she didn't even remember when she'd told Stacie those were her favorite. Although, now that she thought about it, she was pretty sure pansies were Stacie's favorite so they must have talked about it at some point.

She looked at the flowers and then at Stacie, who was looking at her with a smug smile on her face. She was aware that every single person in the office was looking at them and she took a step closer to Stacie to feel less exposed. "They're my favorite, thanks."

Aubrey took the flowers and turned to her assistant, who was leaning so far forward on her chair that she was half lying on her desk. "Can you get me somewhere to put these and put them in my office?"

She frowned about having to miss Stacie Conrad hitting on her boss but got up and went to find a vase.

Stacie took a step forward and placed a hand on Aubrey's hip. "Are you busy? Can we talk?"

Aubrey just nodded and turned around, taking Stacie's hand and pulling her inside her office.

As soon as the door was closed behind them, Aubrey sat on the couch and put her head in her hands. "I don't know if I can do this, Stace. That was horrible, I can't lie."

"It wasn't bad, you were great." Stacie sat next to her and rubbed her back. "It's just me, Bree. Relax."

Aubrey leaned against Stacie and the brunette wrapped her arms around her. "What if I slip up and someone finds out?"

"We'll figure something out if that happens but you won't." Stacie scooted closer. "Unless you really don't want to do this. We can tell people you rejected me."

Aubrey lifted her head from Stacie's shoulder and looked at her with an amused glint in her eyes. "You're gonna admit that someone rejected you?"

Stacie shrugged. "It's not like it's true anyway."

"It would be if you asked me out for real." Aubrey said and stuck her tongue out.

"Well it's good I'm not." Stacie stuck her tongue out back at Aubrey and they looked at each other with matching smiles. Stacie got serious again. "So, do you wanna stop?"

Aubrey shook her head and leaned back against Stacie. "It'll get easier, right?"

The door opened and Chloe came in holding the flowers now in a vase. Aubrey jumped up from the couch and away from Stacie. Chloe stopped by the door, trying and failing to keep herself from smiling. "I'm sorry, Ashley told me to bring these in but I can come back."

Aubrey took a step forward and took the vase from Chloe's hands. "No, it's okay. Thanks, Chlo."

Stacie stood up. "Yeah, I should go." She walked over to Aubrey and took her hand. "I'm filming late tonight but do you want to have lunch tomorrow?"

Aubrey turned her hand in Stacie's and laced their fingers making the brunette raise her eyebrows in surprise. The move seemed too bold after her previous hesitation but Aubrey figured it was like swimming in cold water, it was easier to just jump right in. "Yeah, sounds great. Call me?"

Stacie nodded and backed away, keeping Aubrey's hand in hers for a couple of steps before letting it go. She smiled and winked when she got to the door. "Bye, Chloe."

Aubrey walked to her desk and cleared away some papers to put the vase with the flowers. When she was happy with how they looked she walked around to sit, frowning when she noticed Chloe was still standing there and staring at her with a confused look on her face. "Did you need something else?"

"So I was right."

Aubrey smiled innocently. "What do you mean?"

"There was something going on between you and Stacie and you lied."

Aubrey's stomach dropped. She hadn't really lied to her yet, she could still tell her the truth. But Chloe wouldn't understand why she was doing this, and Stacie was right, things would get more complicated if people knew. "I didn't lie, we weren't dating before."

She and Stacie had agreed that the best way to not screw up was to stay as close to the truth as possible. It was easier to remember and it would make it harder for them to contradict each other.

"So you are dating now." Chloe walked around Aubrey's desk and leaned against it with her arms crossed.

"I guess?" Aubrey shrugged. "Stacie told me she wanted to try so we're seeing how it goes, nothing's happened yet."

Chloe looked at her skeptically. "And you want to do it? You said you were just friends."

"I don't know, Chlo. That's why we're going out, to figure out how we feel." Aubrey turned in her chair to face Chloe. "I mean, I love spending time with her and she's hot."

"But?"

"No but, I just hadn't thought about her in that way before." Aubrey turned away from Chloe and tried to look like she was looking for something in a pile of files but she was just trying to escape her scrutiny.

Chloe walked over to where the flowers were and touched one. "She is being really cute about it. And you guys have been friends for ages so she must be serious about this." Aubrey nodded and hummed without looking up. "You looked pretty comfortable when I came in for someone who's not sure how they feel."

Aubrey looked up and blushed because that hadn't been an act. "We were just talking."

Chloe smirked. She looked at Aubrey for a beat longer and turned to leave. "I'm happy for you, Bree."

Aubrey smiled back even though she felt guilt stirring in her stomach. "Thanks, Chlo."

* * *

Aubrey got closer to Stacie and took her hand. "Lunch was nice."

Stacie squeezed her hand and smiled at her. "It was. I told you things would be the same."

"I suppose this isn't that bad."

Stacie chuckled. "I'm happy you don't find dating me horrible." She moved closer and whispered in her ear. "Even it's fake."

Aubrey laughed. "Well, the bar is really low when it comes to horrible dates and me so it's not a huge accomplishment."

They kept walking with their clasped hands swinging between them until Aubrey pulled Stacie to a pet store window. Stacie looked around and saw a guy with a camera on the other side of the street. She let go of Aubrey's hand and stepped up behind her.

She heard Aubrey's breath hitch when she wrapped her arms around her waist. She pressed herself close to her and rested her chin on her shoulder. "Relax."

Aubrey took a deep breath and leaned back slightly, trying to get comfortable in Stacie's arms. "This is weird."

"There's a guy with a camera behind us." Aubrey tried to turn her head to look at him but Stacie tightened her arms around her. "Don't turn, they're more annoying when they know you've seen them. At least this way he won't bother us."

Aubrey nodded and put her hands over Stacie's arms. "I really like that puppy." Stacie burst out laughing. "What?"

Stacie squeezed her tighter and shook her head. "Nothing." Aubrey stepped away and turned around frowning. Stacie smiled. "It's nothing, I just love that you're doing this for me. You're amazing."

Aubrey's expression softened and she grabbed Stacie's hand and went back to their previous position. She watched the puppies playing on the other side of the glass for a while, feeling herself relax more and more as time went by.

Stacie brushed her hair behind her ear. "I have an event next week, wanna be my plus one? It's not a huge deal, no red carpet, but there are gonna be reporters."

"We need to come up with what we're gonna say if they ask about us."

"When they ask about us." Stacie corrected. "They're gonna ask whether you're there or not so we have to figure it out anyway. But the sooner we get it out of the way, the sooner they get used to it and start talking about something else."

Aubrey stood still for a moment longer and then stepped away to keep walking, taking Stacie's hand almost immediately. "When is it?"

"Wednesday, I think. I'll send you the info later." Stacie looked down at their hands and then back up at Aubrey. She had been so caught up in this, crafting up the perfect backstory, making a show of wooing her, making sure everyone believed it, that she hadn't thought about the impact this could have on their friendship.

She loved Aubrey, she was one of her oldest friends and saving her image wasn't even half as important as having her in her life. "Are you sure about this? Us? I don't want to lose you because of this."

Aubrey stopped, pulling Stacie's hand so she'd stop too. She dropped her hand and threw her arms around her waist hugging her tightly. "This isn't me pretending, just so you know." Aubrey let go of Stacie and held her gaze. "You're not gonna lose me."

* * *

Aubrey opened the door and Stacie gave a low whistle. "If that's what you wear when I say it's a casual event, I can't wait to see what you're wearing for the Oscars."

"I don't know if you're keeping me for that long." Aubrey grabbed her clutch and pushed Stacie to the side so she could close the door. "And you said it was a clothing line launch, I had to look good."

Aubrey was wearing a short white dress with geometric patterns on the front in orange and yellow and a deep v-neck with lace on the edges. Her hair was loose and wavy, falling over her shoulders almost carelessly. On her feet were a pair of high, open-toed light blue shoes.

"Well you look… wow." Stacie said, checking her out one more time.

Aubrey rolled her eyes and started walking out of her building. "Stop ogling me."

"I'm not! I'm appreciating the fact that my date is gonna be the hottest person there."

Aubrey laughed and got in Stacie's waiting car. "You don't look too bad yourself."

Stacie was wearing a short pink dress with a flaring skirt and a white pattern on the front. Her hair was tied back in a bun, with a couple of thin braids starting in the front and wrapping around her head. Aubrey traced one of the braids to the back of Stacie's head. "I like these."

Stacie grinned. "Thanks."

The car stopped and Stacie turned to Aubrey taking her hand. "Are you ready?" Aubrey squeezed Stacie's hand and nodded.

Stacie waited for the driver to open the door and pulled Aubrey out. She ushered the blonde to the building, with a hand on the small of her back.

As soon as they entered the lobby, they were assaulted by the flash of cameras and various people shouting Stacie's name. Aubrey flinched and her grip on Stacie's hand tightened. The brunette shot her a questioning look to check if she was okay and Aubrey nodded.

Stacie led her to the side of the room, stopping in front of the first reporter and Aubrey noticed something change in her. It wasn't that Stacie Conrad the actress was a lot different than Stacie her friend, but there were subtle changes. There was a certain touch of restraint in the way she acted, her smiles were less bright, and even the way she talked was more controlled.

She snapped out of her thoughts when she heard the reporter say her name. "So, are you and Aubrey officially a couple now?"

Stacie turned to Aubrey with a smile. "Well you'll have to ask her about that. But I really like her and I'm pretty sure she really likes me too."

The reporter turned to Aubrey and raised his eyebrows. "Of course I really like her, she's great."

"And hot." Stacie added and let go of Aubrey's hand to pull her closer by the waist.

Aubrey rolled her eyes. "And hot. So yes," She looked at Stacie nervously, "we are an official couple now."

Stacie smiled and kissed Aubrey's cheek, thanking the reporter and moving her down the line. Stacie and Aubrey had the same conversation with the other reporters: first, Stacie talked about how excited she was to see her friend Amy's new clothing line; then, she would talk a bit about the movie she was filming and what her future plans were; and finally, they would ask about Aubrey.

Aubrey stayed silent until they asked about her or talked to her directly. Only one of the reporters asked about Aubrey's current projects and then asked if her and Stacie were planning to work together again.

"I'd love to!" Stacie replied immediately.

Aubrey chuckled and leaned forward to talk to the reporter. "I don't really have a lot of say on casting decisions, but Stacie is free to audition for any of my movies." Stacie pouted when Aubrey looked back at her. "I'm not gonna give you a role just because you're my girlfriend."

"Fine." Stacie grumbled and they moved on to the next reporter.

They went into the room where the party was happening after they got to the end of the line of reporters. They grabbed a couple of champagne flutes and walked to one of the small tables that were spread around the room.

Waiters walked around holding drinks and hors d'oeuvres. Stacie started grabbing food faster than she could eat it. Her napkin was overflowing with the small food so she started piling it up on Aubrey's. By the time Aubrey noticed, it was almost as full at Stacie's.

"What are you-" She turned to Stacie who was chewing something while holding a mini quiche in each hand.

Stacie swallowed and shrugged. "They're good." She ate one of the quiches and lifted the other one to Aubrey's mouth. Aubrey chuckled and opened her mouth to take it. "See?"

Aubrey turned to get a new napkin from one of the waiters. "Stop talking with your mouth full." She used the napkin to wipe the corner of Stacie's mouth. "You're getting crumbs everywhere."

"Stop it with the cuteness, you're gonna make me lose my lunch."

Stacie looked over Aubrey's shoulder and smiled. "Amy!"

Stacie hugged the other girl. She placed her hand on Aubrey's waist and pulled her against her side. "This is Aubrey."

"Oh yeah, the hunter tamer." Aubrey scrunched up her nose. "Better keep her on a short leash!"

Stacie pulled Aubrey closer and kissed her cheek. "I don't need a leash, I'm not going anywhere."

"You must be really good in bed." Amy winked. "Catch ya later, gotta make the rounds."

Stacie kept her arms around Aubrey for a while longer before turning back to the table and her mountain of food. She noticed Aubrey was looking at her drink with a small frown on her face and brushed back her hair. "What is it?"

Aubrey looked around them to make sure no one was close enough to listen and leaned forward lowering her voice. "What are we going to tell people about sex?"

Stacie's forehead wrinkled. "That it's not their business?"

"I know, but Chloe's gonna ask at some point and I have to tell her something." Aubrey worried her lower lip with her teeth.

"We have it, it's great, you love it." Stacie smirked. "Multiply your best sex experience by ten and that's how good it would be."

Aubrey quirked an eyebrow at her. "You either think I've had really sucky sex or you're pretty sure of yourself."

Fat Amy went up on a platform at the front and they both turned around. Aubrey felt Stacie pressing herself close to her and moving to whisper in her ear. "Trust me, I can beat any benchmark."


	5. Chapter 5

_**Director Beca Mitchell talks about her upcoming movie and more** _

_[...]_

_EW: What is it like to work with Stacie Conrad?_

_BM: I love it. She's an amazing actress and she works really hard. She never complains about reshooting something until I'm happy with it._

_EW: Do you make her reshoot a lot?_

_BM: Sometimes, but most of the time it's not her fault. I'm very picky about details and getting a scene right. But Stacie, and the rest of the cast and crew, are amazing. In fact we just had a hellish weekend filming nights and, even though we were all tired, everyone was great._

_EW: Oh yeah, Stacie posted a picture of her and her girlfriend in her trailer. Does she visit the set a lot?_

_BM: She has lunch with Stacie sometimes and picks her up. This is the first time we'd have to shoot all night since they started dating, I think._

_EW: Do you have any inside tidbits about their relationship? Are they as cute as they look in pictures?_

_BM: They're ridiculous. It's like they have to always be touching or the world is going to end or something… No but seriously, I hadn't known Stacie a long time before she started dating Aubrey but she looks really happy with her. They both look really happy together._

_[...]_

* * *

Chloe's head popped into Aubrey's office. "Are you ready?"

Aubrey lifted a finger for Chloe to wait while she kept tapping on her computer. Chloe went in and sat on Aubrey's couch, knowing that finger could mean anything between a few seconds and several minutes. She didn't have to wait long this time.

"All done…" Aubrey was turning off her computer when her phone rang. She rolled her eyes and picked up. "Aubrey Posen."

Chloe watched as Aubrey smiled immediately when the other person identified herself. "Hi, baby… Yes, she's here. We're just leaving now…" Aubrey pouted. "How late are you going to stay?… No, it's okay, I'll see you tomorrow then… Love you too, bye."

Aubrey hung up the phone and went back to cleaning up her desk so they could leave. "Stacie's not coming."

"No, they have to reshoot a scene and they're already behind schedule as it is." Aubrey picked up her packed briefcase and purse and led Chloe out.

Chloe grabbed her arm and pulled her to the elevator. "Well I'm glad. We haven't spent any time together just the two of us. You started dating Stacie and then you went to LA…"

"I only went to LA for five days and it's not like I've seen Stacie every day since we started dating. Besides, we hang out here all the time."

They exited the elevator and walked out to Aubrey's car. "That doesn't count, you're always working."

Aubrey glared at Chloe. "You should be too, we're at work."

Chloe rolled her eyes and got in the back of the car next to Aubrey. "What I mean is that we haven't really had time to talk. I take it from that phone call that things are going well between you and Stacie?" Aubrey looked at her confused. "You were adorable and told her you loved her?"

"Oh." Aubrey hadn't realized she'd said that, it was just a reflex. The thought of what her love for Stacie meant now popped up in her head and she squashed it immediately.

"Yeah, we're good. She's great, it doesn't feel like it's a new thing." Chloe bit her lip to keep herself from smiling too widely at the dreamy look on Aubrey's face. "It's easy to be with her. She knows me better than anyone."

She looked down half embarrassed from what she said and half sad about not being able to see her until the next day. "You really miss her, don't you?"

Aubrey scoffed. "No, it's been five days. I'm not that needy, I can wait until tomorrow to see her."

"Right." Chloe said unconvinced. The car stopped in front of a restaurant. Chloe pulled Aubrey out of the car and smiled excitedly. "Well as your best friend, it's my job to make sure you have a good enough time that you forget you miss her."

Aubrey frowned. "That sounds scary."

Chloe's grin only made Aubrey more nervous. "It's gonna be awesome."

* * *

"Hey, Bree. It's me…" Stacie chuckled. "Is Chloe there?... I know I said I'd meet you guys for dinner but we're still gonna be a while… Probably until noon tomorrow, we have to reshoot a scene and we're way behind. I'm sorry… Yes, see you tomorrow. I love you."

Stacie hung up and sighed. "Hey, what's wrong."

Stacie gave Beca a fleeting smile and put her phone back in her pocket. "Nothing, I just had to call Aubrey to cancel dinner. She just came back from LA and I haven't seen her in five days."

Beca quirked an eyebrow and was about to make a sarcastic comment about codependent relationships but she decided against it. Instead she nodded and awkwardly pat Stacie's shoulder. "You'll have most of the afternoon off tomorrow."

"I know, I just missed her I guess." Stacie shrugged. "Let's get back to work."

* * *

Chloe groaned. "Okay, I'm done with listening to you talk about how awesome Stacie is, give me some dirt now."

Aubrey frowned. "There's no dirt."

"There's gotta be something she does that annoys you." Aubrey bit her lip. "Really? Nothing? No one's that perfect."

"She's not perfect." Chloe raised her eyebrows questioningly and Aubrey rolled her eyes. She had to think hard to come up with something that annoyed her, and even when she found something, it was stupid little things.

"When she eats it's like it's the first time she's had food in weeks. She says it's because her brother used to take her food but it's insane. She looks like a chipmunk, I don't know how she hasn't choked."

"That's the worst thing you could come up with?" Chloe's brow furrowed confused. Aubrey opened her mouth to say something else but Chloe figured it would be equally irrelevant so she raised a hand to stop Aubrey. "It's okay, it's cute. You're so ridiculously cute, it's actually kind of gross."

"We're not gross!" Aubrey said offended.

"It's okay, embrace it." Chloe leaned forward and lowered her voice. "So since you don't have any actual complaints, is she as good in bed as she looks?"

Aubrey blushed. If she had to guess the answer to that question she would say Stacie was better than she looked. But having to guess meant having to think about Stacie and sex and she refused to go there. Especially when they hadn't even fake kissed yet.

She was saved from having to answer when the waiter approached to take away the empty bottle of wine. "Would you like another bottle?"

"No."

"Yes!" Chloe gave Aubrey a pointed look. "I told you I was gonna make you forget you miss Stacie."

"By getting me drunk?" Aubrey arched an eyebrow.

Chloe shrugged and turned to the waiter. "We'll have another one."

* * *

Stacie heard a loud crash coming from the entrance of the warehouse they were shooting in and looked up.

"Cut! What the fuck-" Beca stopped mid sentence when she noticed it was Aubrey who had tripped on some boxes. Stacie was already running towards her and Beca rolled her eyes. "Take five."

Stacie ran over to Aubrey and helped her stand up. "Bree, what are you doing here? Are you okay?"

Aubrey kept her arms around Stacie's neck to help keep herself steady. "Yes, I-" She suddenly realized everyone was looking at them with mildly amused expressions, except for Beca who just looked annoyed. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt."

Stacie looked behind her and then back at Aubrey. "It's okay, we needed a break anyway." She noticed Aubrey's slightly disheveled state. Aubrey swayed a little to the side and Stacie brought her hands up to hold her chuckling. "Are you drunk?"

Aubrey squinted. "Maybe? I had wine and then we went to a club." She leaned her head on Stacie's shoulder and traced her neck with her index finger. "Chloe wanted me to forget I missed you but it didn't work so I came."

Stacie smiled and kissed Aubrey's forehead. "I missed you too." She looked around trying to figure out what to do with her. "Hey, babe, do you think you can get to my trailer if Emily helps you?"

Aubrey lifted her head and pouted. "You're not coming?"

"I still have to work, but I'll be there later."

Aubrey nodded still pouting and tried to stand on her own. She was a bit wobbly but she was managing. Stacie kept her hand on her waist and waved at Emily. "Can you help her get to my trailer? Just put her on the couch and make sure she has water close by."

Emily nodded and took Aubrey's arm. Aubrey squinted up at her. "You're tall. Have we met?"

"I don't think Stacie introduced us when you came over last time. I'm Beca's assistant." Emily had to put her arm around Aubrey's waist because she kept going the wrong way.

"I'm sorry about that."

Emily frowned. "I like working with her."

"How do you even see her from up there? Have you ever lost her? Stacie is tall too, I like Stacie."

Emily chuckled. "That's good."

She made Aubrey lean against the side of the trailer while she got the keys and unlocked the door. Getting Aubrey inside was a bit harder than getting her there but she managed to do it without letting her fall. She closed her eyes as soon as she lowered her to the couch and Emily let out a heavy breath.

She got a bottle of water from the mini fridge putting it on the floor next to the couch, and covered Aubrey with a blanket Stacie kept there before walking out and locking the door.

A few hours later, Stacie stumbled into the trailer. She was exhausted and just wanted to sleep for days but she had to be back on set later. She noticed the mess of blonde hair on her couch and smiled.

She got on the couch behind Aubrey and wrapped her arms around her. The blonde groaned and turned around. "Are you done?"

Aubrey threw an arm and a leg on top of Stacie and pulled her closer, resting her head on her shoulder. Stacie waited for her to get comfortable before she rearranged the cushions behind her head and let her hands rest on Aubrey's back. "They're filming a scene I'm not in. They'll call me when they're done."

"Why aren't you in it? You should be in everything, you're the star."

Stacie chuckled and nuzzled Aubrey's temple. "You should tell the writer that."

"I will." Aubrey buried her face on Stacie's neck.

Stacie managed to get her phone out of her pocket and took a picture. It was mostly of her face but there was a heap of blonde hair on the corner.

_**Stacie Conrad**_ _Night filming is way better when I can take my breaks with this cuddlebug. #historyintheshadows #lovemygirl_

* * *

"Stacie!" Beca pounded on the door for the millionth time. "Stacie, you have to come back now!"

Aubrey groaned and pressed herself closer to Stacie. "What's happening? Make it stop."

Stacie opened one eye and lifted her phone to look at the time. She'd been sleeping for almost two hours. She heard Beca knocking again and she groaned. "I'll be right there!"

Aubrey whimpered. "Why are you yelling?" Stacie's laugh shook Aubrey. "Stop!"

Stacie flipped them over still laughing. "I forgot how whiny you are when you're hungover."

Aubrey opened her eyes to glare at her but she grimaced at the light coming in through the window. "What time is it? Why is it so bright in here?"

"It's seven." Stacie reached over the back of the couch to fully close the blinds. "I'm leaving now, go back to sleep."

Stacie took the bottle of water Emily had left on the floor and put it on the couch next to Aubrey. "Drink that, I'll leave you another one here."

Aubrey only groaned in response and Stacie shook her head. "Bring me pancakes."

Aubrey was still sleeping when Stacie returned to her trailer around noon. She sat on the couch and brushed back Aubrey's hair. "Wake up, sleepyhead." Aubrey squeezed her eyes tight and hugged the bottle she was holding. "Come on, babe, I'll take you to our diner and we'll get pancakes and milkshakes."

"Is that place still open?" Stacie nodded. "Aren't you tired? You worked all night."

"I took a nap." Stacie shrugged. "Besides, if your best friend drunk crashes your movie because she missed you, you take her out for pancakes."

Aubrey blushed and covered her face with the blanket. "I'm so sorry I did that. It was all Chloe's fault."

"It's okay." Stacie tugged on the blanket smiling. "No one really minded. Well no one except Beca but you know her. Oh, by the way-"

"Are you done making out? I'm hungry!" Beca shouted from the door.

"Beca's coming too?" Stacie smiled sheepishly.

Aubrey huffed. "Fine, but you're getting fries and letting me steal them."

"Deal."

* * *

Aubrey leaned her head on Stacie's shoulder while they waited for their food to arrive. She had borrowed some clothes from the ones Stacie kept in her trailer, yoga pants and a big sweatshirt, and tried to remove all her makeup from last night, but she still looked and felt worse than usual. She closed her eyes and whimpered softly.

Stacie moved her hand up and down her side. "You'll feel better after you eat."

"Maybe you'd feel better if you hadn't gotten drunk and interrupted people when they were trying to work." Beca grumbled from the other side of the table.

Aubrey tried to come up with a comeback but her head hurt too much to think. "Maybe you should shut up." She lifted her head to look at Stacie. "Why did you invite her?"

Stacie shrugged. "I like her."

"Well I don't. How can someone so small be so annoying?" Aubrey frowned.

"I try extra hard for you." Beca said with a cheeky grin.

Aubrey went back to her previous position and pouted. "Baby, she's being mean."

Stacie shook her head. "I'm not getting in the middle of this. She's my boss and you're my girlfriend. Act like adults and be nice."

Aubrey's frown deepend. "She can't fire you, she'd have to reshoot everything."

"And you're not breaking up with me so it doesn't matter either way." Stacie challenged.

Aubrey sat back and frowned at Stacie. "How do you know?"

Stacie leaned forward to whisper in Aubrey's ear. "If you really want to annoy Beca act like I'm saying something dirty right now." She bit down on her earlobe and then kissed down her neck.

"Stacie!" Beca crossed her arms.

Aubrey blushed and squirmed away. "Okay, I won't break up with you."

Stacie chuckled and straightened herself. She wiggled her eyebrows at Beca. "Do you wanna know what I told her?"

"No!" Beca sank further in her seat.

"Are you sure, Beca? You might learn something." Aubrey said, grimacing when her head hurt when she laughed.

Beca flipped Aubrey off and the blonde glared at her. Stacie laughed. "What did I say about being nice?" She swung her arm over Aubrey's shoulder and pressed her mouth to her ear. "You can annoy her again after we eat." She licked shell of Aubrey's ear and moaned loud enough for Beca to hear.

Beca stood up. "Okay, I'm going to the bathroom. You better have stopped this by the time I come back."

* * *

Aubrey sat next to Stacie on her couch. "Are you sure you wanna do this? Aren't you tired?"

"I'm exhausted but if I sleep now I won't wake up and I have to be back on set in three hours." Stacie took a long time arranging her cushions to perfection while Aubrey watched her with a mildly amused expression. She finally sat back with a contented sigh and turned to Aubrey. "Start the movie."

Aubrey started the movie and leaned back. Despite having slept a lot more than Stacie, she was starting to think she wouldn't make it through the whole thing. She didn't understand how Stacie was still awake, let alone how she would get through another night of shooting.

She felt Stacie shift next to her, the brunette's hand crossing the distance between them and taking hers. Aubrey automatically laced their fingers and turned to give Stacie a small smile. She suddenly realized that they were alone in her apartment and that no one was going to catch them not acting as a couple there. But it was getting harder to go back and forth between faking and not faking. It was also getting harder to tell what was fake and what wasn't.

As much as she avoided thinking about it, there were times when Aubrey felt like she was really dating Stacie, when she couldn't ignore the fluttering in her stomach. She looked forward to their "dates" and now, not only was she used to Stacie touching her, she craved it. She really had missed her those five days she spent in LA, and it wasn't just that she missed talking to her as her friend, she physically missed her. She missed holding her hand and hugging her.

Stacie moved again, pulling Aubrey closer and letting go of her hand to snake her arm behind her back. Aubrey brought her legs up on the couch and snuggled closer to Stacie, her hand resting gently on her stomach.

Stacie's hand tugged lightly on her hair, tangling and untangling her fingers in it. Aubrey relaxed against her and started to feel her eyelids getting heavy. "I'm falling asleep, you're too comfortable and warm."

"I can go if you want to sleep."

Aubrey tightened her arms around Stacie. "Don't. Just wake me up before you leave."

"Okay." Stacie focused back on the movie until she felt Aubrey stirring again.

"Stace?" She felt the blonde's breath on her neck and she froze. "I love you."

Stacie felt her heart skip a beat. They've said the words a lot of times but this time it felt different. "I love you too."


	6. Chapter 6

_**Stacie Conrad Returns to Broadway** _

_Stacie Conrad is set to return to Broadway in the new revival of Hedda Gabler by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, as was announced by a press release earlier today. She will play the title character, a manipulative newlywed bored with marriage and with life sometimes described as the female Hamlet. Conrad, who started out in theatre while attending Juilliard, had expressed her desire to return to the stage in various occasions._

_The news of Conrad's return to the stage has been received with mixed reactions from the Broadway community. While some say this role may be too ambitious for her, especially after being away from the stage for so long, a lot of people think it might be the perfect role for her to win her first Tony._

* * *

Stacie was in the middle of shooting a scene; she was holding a gun to Jesse's head with one hand and a big knife dripping blood with the other. Jesse was tied at Stacie's feet with a hood covering his head and there was a long, bloody gash on Stacie's right arm.

Stacie crouched down and pressed the gun closer to Jesse's head pushing it to the side. Aubrey couldn't hear what Stacie was saying but she could see her lips moving, the hand holding the knife twitching, the slight tremble of the hand holding the gun.

She had always loved watching Stacie act. She'd spent an extraordinary amount of time on set when they had worked together. She couldn't remember the excuse she had used back then, but the truth was that there was something mesmerizing about seeing Stacie act, something that wasn't entirely captured by the camera, you had to be there to experience it.

Aubrey walked forward when she heard Beca break for lunch. Stacie smiled when she saw her and jogged over to her. "Hey, baby." She stopped before getting to her and pointed at her arm. "Let me just get cleaned up and we can eat."

Aubrey walked to the tables where the cast and crew ate lunch and waited for Stacie to come back. They were on the last week of filming and they'd been working round the clock so they wouldn't go over budget, so the only time they could see each other was during lunch breaks.

Stacie joined her a couple of minutes later with two plates. "Greek salad, grilled chicken sandwich no mayo, and lemonade." She put the plate and the lemonade in front of Aubrey and sat next to her.

"Thank you." Aubrey smiled and kissed her cheek before starting to eat.

Beca approached the other side of the table and eyed them warily. "Should I sit somewhere else? I'd like to keep my lunch down."

Aubrey rolled her eyes. "Sit."

Beca smirked and sat down. "When do you start rehearsals for your play?"

"In a month. I have a couple of weeks off after we're done here." Stacie said with a smile. "Do you know what you're doing after this yet?" Stacie took a too large bite of her sandwich and Aubrey rolled her eyes at Stacie's eating habits.

Beca shook her head. "I haven't found anything I like yet."

Aubrey handed Stacie a napkin and turned to Beca. "I got a script a few days ago that looks interesting, I can send it to you if you want."

Beca was drinking from her soda and coughed a couple of times. "You want to work with me?"

Aubrey shrugged. "You're a good director."

Beca gaped at Aubrey. "Did you just compliment me?" Beca frowned confused. "But you're always so mean to me."

Stacie stood up to throw out their trash and sat sideways on the bench facing Aubrey when she came back. "Don't call my girlfriend mean, she's delightful."

Aubrey chuckled and let Stacie pull her against her chest with her arms around her waist. Aubrey closed her eyes and leaned her head back, ignoring the tingling feeling she got when Stacie nuzzled the spot behind her ear. "Do you want to read the script or not?"

"Yeah, can you send it to Emily?"

Stacie scooted closer and squeezed Aubrey tighter. "I have her email, I'll give it to Ashley when I go to your office tomorrow."

"Awesome." Beca stood up. "You're starting to get gross and I need to get stuff ready." She pointed at Stacie. "You need to be in make-up in ten."

Stacie saluted Beca and grabbed Aubrey's hand lacing their fingers before returning it to the blonde's waist. "You'll like working with Beca."

Aubrey scoffed. "You should be in the movie so you can mediate."

Stacie smiled and started tracing random patterns on Aubrey's forearm with her free hand. "As much as I'd love to be there when you two start World War III, I already said I'd do this play."

Aubrey noticed the subtle shift in Stacie when she mentioned the play. "Are you nervous?"

"Is it that obvious?" Stacie chuckled.

"Only because I know you." Aubrey squeezed her hand. She waited for Stacie to continue, the hand on her arm moving steadily.

"I don't know if I can do it. It's a huge role and I haven't done theatre in ages. What if I forget all my lines or I lose my voice by the third day of previews?"

"You'll have your acting coach there to help you and you still remember all your lines from that play you did in high school." Aubrey turned her head and kissed her jaw. "You're going to be amazing."

Stacie turned her head to look at Aubrey, their faces only millimeters apart. "Do you really think so?"

Aubrey felt Stacie's breath on her lips and her heart rate went up. "Of course."

Aubrey held her breath when she felt Stacie's hand move down her side and saw her eyes shift to her lips.

"Stacie! Make-up, now!"

Aubrey jumped away from Stacie and off the bench. "You should go before the hobbit blows a gasket."

Stacie blinked a couple of times as if trying to figure out why Aubrey wasn't next to her anymore. She nodded and stood up, kissing Aubrey's cheek when she passed her. "I'll see you tomorrow."

* * *

The music thumped loudly making Stacie's chest vibrate and masking her nerves. She had caught herself thinking about Aubrey more often this past few weeks. She had been going over everything about their relationship, even before they started pretending to be a couple. Even those years when they had barely talked to each other because Stacie was busy in LA and Aubrey was in New York, Aubrey had always been the one person she could always count on.

This wasn't what Stacie had thought would happen when she suggested pretending to date to Aubrey, and she hadn't lied when she said she didn't want a real relationship with anyone. But the way she felt when she was with Aubrey made her want their relationship to be real.

The problem was that she didn't know how Aubrey felt about her. Every time she met with Aubrey since then she watched her closely, trying to find a sign that she wanted it to be real too. But with how busy she had been finishing the movie, they hadn't had a lot of time to be together, especially alone, so Stacie still wasn't entirely sure about where Aubrey stood.

They had finished shooting the final scene of the movie earlier that day and Beca decided to throw a party on her building's roof for everyone. Stacie had texted Aubrey about it but she wasn't there yet. Every the the door opened, Stacie would look up and sigh disappointedly when it wasn't Aubrey.

Beca sat down next to her and handed her a shot, frowning when Stacie didn't take it. "What's up with you? Why are you being mopey?" She looked in the direction Stacie was looking. "Are you waiting for Aubrey? Is she coming? Did you guys fight or something?"

"What's with all the questions?" Stacie grabbed the shot. "We didn't fight. She said she was coming but she didn't say what time."

"Aww and you miss her?" Beca pinched Stacie's cheek.

"No." Stacie swatted Beca's hand away and scrunched up her nose.

A flash of blonde hair distracted her from retaliating. She immediately smiled when she saw Aubrey walk through the door and look around for her. Stacie downed the shot and stood up. "Gotta go, she's here."

Stacie crossed the room and crashed against Aubrey's side giving her a bone crushing hug. "You're here!"

Aubrey laughed as she struggled to keep her balance. "Yes, I said I'd be here." Stacie straightened up and looked at her, her breath smelling of the shot she just had. "How much have you had to drink?"

"Not enough." Stacie said with a mischievous smile. "Dance with me?"

Stacie took her hand and pulled her to the makeshift dance floor. There were only a couple of people dancing and Stacie decided to take advantage of this and take as much space as she could. She spun Aubrey in a wide circle making her squeal and then pulled her closer keeping her hands on her waist.

Aubrey slapped her shoulder. "You're gonna kill me!"

"I'm not! Everything was under control." Stacie took a step back and wiggled her eyebrows. "Wanna go again?"

Aubrey laughed and shook her head. "You're gonna fling me off the roof, no thank you."

Stacie feigned offence. "Is that how much you trust me?"

Aubrey pressed her palms against Stacie's cheeks. "I trust you very much, but I don't know how much you've had to drink and you'd be really sad if you killed me and I don't want you to be sad."

They had moved closer and Stacie rested her forehead on Aubrey's looking into her eyes and trying to find her sign. "I would miss you terribly."

Someone bumped into Stacie's back making them take a step back. Stacie looked at Aubrey again but the moment had passed.

Stacie stuck her tongue out and started dancing around Aubrey goofing off. This was one of the reasons why Stacie hadn't needed to think twice about being with Aubrey for real. There wasn't anyone else she was as comfortable with as she was with Aubrey. Everyone else had certain expectations of her, even if they were well intentioned, they had an idea of what she should be. But with Aubrey she could just let go and be herself.

Aubrey spent the whole time barely dancing because she was laughing so hard at Stacie's antics. She had to stop her when she started doing the sprinkler. "I need a drink if you expect me to keep up with you."

Stacie got them a couple of drinks and they took them to the side. They leaned against the edge of the building and looked down over the city. Summer was almost over and it was starting to get chilly. Aubrey shivered and Stacie wrapped her in her arms.

They sipped their drinks in silence for a while until Aubrey broke the silence. "This is nice."

"Yeah." Stacie placed a single kiss on Aubrey's shoulder. "Bree?"

Aubrey turned around in Stacie's arms and looked at her, a small line forming between her eyebrows. "What is it?"

Stacie opened her mouth to say something but noticed someone walking their way from the corner of her eye. "Oh shit."

"What?" Aubrey was even more confused now.

"Jesse's coming. He's been trying to talk to me about working with him again but ugh." Stacie looked around but they wouldn't be able to walk away without meeting him.

Stacie grabbed Aubrey's hips and pressed her against the ledge behind her. "Stacie, what-"

The rest of her sentence was swallowed by Stacie's mouth. Stacie didn't want this to be their first kiss but it was the only thing she thought would keep Jesse away.

She felt Aubrey kissing her back after a few seconds and deepened the kiss. This couldn't look like a tentative first kiss, it was a passionate kiss between two people who had been dating for months. Two people who you wouldn't dare interrupt.

She felt one of Aubrey's hands move up to tangle in her hair and the other one curl up against her clavicle. The feeling of Aubrey's tongue moving against hers spurred her on and she tightened her grip on Aubrey's hips pressing her body closer.

Aubrey let out a strangled moan and pulled Stacie's head closer. Her mind had immediately gone blank when Stacie started kissing her. She couldn't think about what this meant or what it was making her feel, not now.

Stacie slowed the kiss down, pulling back just enough so she could speak. "I think he's gone."

"Who?" Aubrey looked at her dazed.

"Jesse. I think it worked." Stacie hadn't moved away. She was good with staying there breathing the same air as Aubrey for the rest of the night.

Aubrey frowned and looked down. "Right, Jesse." She pushed Stacie back with a hand on her chest. "I need to go to the bathroom."

Stacie watched her walk away. "Okay…"

* * *

Aubrey kept calm until she closed the bathroom door behind her. "Shit."

After that kiss she couldn't keep denying that her feelings for Stacie had changed. She wanted to do it a million times over, it had been the best kiss of her life. But then it ended and she realized that it hadn't meant anything to Stacie, she'd just used it to avoid Jesse.

Aubrey looked at herself in the mirror. She could still feel her lips tingling and she brought her hand up to her mouth. She shook her head and slammed her palm on the sink. She had to stop this, she couldn't lose Stacie. She had to act like it hadn't meant anything to her either.

Stacie couldn't know about her feelings or she'd run away faster than she could say commitment. She had been clear when they started this that she didn't want to be in a relationship with anyone.

Someone knocked on the door. Aubrey washed her hands just to give herself something to do. She needed to find a way to act normal.

* * *

Stacie groaned thinking Aubrey must have freaked out because she kissed her. She kicked the concrete ledge a couple of times. "Stupid, stupid, stupid."

"Whoa, Stace!" Beca pulled her back. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I fucked up." Stacie ran her hands through her hair and bit her lip.

Beca could tell she was about to cry and she pulled her to a table. "What happened?"

"I just… I'm an idiot. We were there and I was gonna tell her I like her and then I kissed her and- fuck!" Stacie dropped her head on the table.

"You're not making sense… Unless you're talking about someone who's not Aubrey."

"Of course I'm talking about Aubrey." She took the drink from Beca's hand and downed it. "I have to go find her."

Stacie tried to look over the throng of people between her and the bathroom but she didn't see Aubrey. She pushed her way through , getting there as Aubrey was walking out. "Bree!"

Aubrey turned and smiled stiffly. "Hey."

Stacie moved forward and took her hand. She stood there waiting for Aubrey to lace their fingers like she always did but she didn't move. She didn't pull away either which Stacie figured was good enough. "Can we talk?"

Someone exited the bathroom and had to squeeze past them to get out. "Maybe we should go somewhere less crowded."

Stacie led her to the other side of the party, away from the speakers and the bar and everyone else. She stopped in front of her, trying to read Aubrey but she wasn't giving her anything. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have just kissed you."

"It's okay, Stace." Aubrey sighed. "I know it didn't mean anything. It was all part of the act."

Stacie wanted to tell her it did mean something to her. But she didn't want to make Aubrey uncomfortable if she didn't feel the same way.

"Hey, it's okay, really." Aubrey smiled and finally laced their fingers. She chuckled trying to lighten the mood and squeezed Stacie's hand. "You just took me by surprise, give me a heads up next time."

Stacie returned her smile with some effort. She was relieved that Aubrey wasn't mad at her but heartbroken because she didn't return her feelings. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to do now, how to stop feeling this way.

They went back to the table where she'd left Beca and sat down. Beca gave her a worried look and Stacie shook her head trying to smile. She didn't look like she was buying it but she didn't say anything.

Aubrey took Stacie's hand and threw her arm over her shoulder, as if trying to prove that she was okay. Stacie played her part, giving her cheek a quick peck before returning to her conversation with Beca.

It was easy to fall back to their normal dynamic but something fell off about it to both of them. They had never had to try this hard to act like a couple, not even at the beginning. There came a point when Aubrey started overcompensating and just climbed onto Stacie's lap.

By the end of the night they were so confused about how they were supposed to act that Stacie almost let her walk out by herself when she said she was going home. After Beca gave her a confused look, she quickly said her goodbyes and ran to catch up to her.

Caught her waiting for the elevator "Aubrey, wait!"

Aubrey quirked an eyebrow at her when she got into the elevator but she stepped in after her. "You didn't have to leave, you could've stayed with your friends."

Stacie shrugged. "It was starting to wind down." Stacie followed her out into the street and waited for her to call an uber. "So, I don't really have a lot going on next week, maybe I can stop by your office for lunch?"

"Oh, I have to go to LA for a while. I thought I told you." Her car arrived and Aubrey walked to the back. "I'll call you and we'll set something up when I get back."

Stacie frowned. They had never needed to set something up, they just got together. "Sure."

Aubrey kissed Stacie's cheek softly. "Bye."


	7. Chapter 7

Of all the things Stacie hated about being in a relationship, and she had a long list, falling in love with someone was definitely the worst. It inevitably ended with her like this: pining. The fact that it was her first unrequited love experience since high school didn't help. Back then it hadn't been that hard to get over it when she found her crush, the boy playing Romeo opposite her, making out with the boy who played Tybalt. It wasn't her fault the boy was gay and she had to laugh a little at the irony. But she had a feeling it wouldn't be as easy this time.

She grabbed her phone for the millionth time and stared at it before putting it down again. She hadn't spoken to Aubrey since Beca's party. She texted her when she got to LA to let her know she'd gotten there okay, and they had exchanged a couple of texts about the weather and traffic, but that had been almost a week ago.

Stacie figured she was busy with whatever she was doing there, she hadn't explained what she was going for. But she knew Stacie wasn't doing anything so maybe she was waiting for her to reach out. She grabbed the phone again, this time unlocking it and opening her text conversation with Aubrey.

She scrolled up and read her old texts. Most were just texts letting her know she was on her way or asking what she wanted for dinner, but there were some more personal ones in between: some "I miss you" texts from the last time Aubrey went to LA, a couple "love you!" at the end of a conversation, a long rant about a boring meeting Aubrey was in that ended with "The only thing keeping me from stabbing myself with my pen is that I'm seeing you later."

Stacie sighed. She didn't get how they went from this to a week of radio silence from just one kiss. One amazing kiss but still, it was just one kiss. She'd gone through all the possibilities of what Aubrey was feeling right now, from being disgusted, which Stacie knew was probably not likely, to just being weirded out.

She had decided that the best way to get them through this was reassuring Aubrey that nothing had changed. But she didn't know how to do that when everything had changed. It hadn't even been the kiss, things had changed before that for her. Stacie already knew she was in love with Aubrey before that kiss.

Which was why she couldn't let Aubrey know anything had changed. She needed to keep Aubrey from pushing her away more than she already was.

She sighed and dialed Aubrey's number, gnawing on her bottom lip as she waited for her to pick up. She had almost given up when Aubrey picked up the phone.

"Hey, Stacie." Stacie was taken aback by the lack of Aubrey's habit of picking up the phone saying her name. "Stace?"

"Sorry, I… you didn't say 'Aubrey Posen' and I was confused." She tried to mimic Aubrey's voice when she said her name.

"You always make fun of me when I answer like that, you can't make fun of me when I don't do it too!" Stacie could almost hear Aubrey's pout. "Anyway, what's up? I'm having lunch with some investors and I need to get back."

"Nothing really, just checking in, wondering how you are. It's been boring without you." Stacie waited for Aubrey to say something but she didn't. "But I'll let you get back to your lunch."

"Sorry I don't have more time. Maybe you can call Beca or Amy and go out with them." Stacie heard someone talking to Aubrey. "I gotta go, bye."

"Bye." She heard the beep from the call disconnecting. "I love you."

Stacie dropped her phone on her bed and groaned loudly. She really hated being this pathetic. She grabbed her phone again and called Amy. No one partied like her and maybe going out wasn't such a bad idea after all. Besides, what really got her over the Romeo/Tybalt debacle was making out with Mercutio.

* * *

Stacie wasn't even sure where they were anymore. They'd been to at least five different clubs, drinking at least two drinks in each place.

She was dancing with someone, against someone. She felt the guy's hands on her hips, pressing his body to her back. Stacie raised her hands and reached back, her fingers raking through short brown hair.

It felt wrong, he felt wrong. He wasn't who she wanted. His hands were too big, too clumsy, nothing like Aubrey's soft hands. She felt his lips on her neck and she shuddered, this was going too far. She knew she should stop this but her head was swimming from the alcohol.

She wanted to want this, to just be able to lose herself in this stranger. She turned around and pulled him down into a rough kiss. She tilted her head and felt his stubble scratching her cheek. But she kept kissing him, thinking that this was the only way to erase the memory of her kiss with Aubrey.

They pulled back for oxygen and Stacie took a good look at him for the first time. He was hot, dark skin, dark eyes, toned body. The perfect person to jump into bed with and forget everything else. She moved forward to kiss him again but he pulled back with a smirk. "Wanna take this somewhere more private?"

Stacie took a deep breath trying to get through the fog in her brain. She wanted to say yes, she knew how to do it, she'd done it so many times before. It was what she did. "I'm sorry, I'm with someone."

She walked away from him, stumbling off the dance floor and trying to find Amy. She was at their table downing shots with a group of people Stacie didn't recognize. "I have to go, I'll see you later."

"Yeah, the Hunter's back, bitches." Fat Amy raised her shot glass and everyone cheered.

Stacie didn't bother with denying it, she took her purse and walked out of the club. She found a taxi right away and took out her phone when she was inside. It was a little after 3 am which meant that Aubrey was probably already asleep even with the three hour time difference.

She called her anyway, thinking she could at least leave her a voice message. "Aubrey Posen."

Stacie smiled despite herself. "Hey, you said your name."

"Yes, well I didn't want to confuse you again." Stacie listened for any signs that Aubrey had been asleep but she sounded normal. "It's late, is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I went out with Amy. I'm on my way home now."

"Did you have fun?"

"It was okay. It would've been more fun if you had been here though." Aubrey didn't miss Stacie's flirty tone but she chalked it up to the alcohol. "When are you coming back? I miss you."

Aubrey felt her stomach flip at the words. She knew Stacie didn't mean them the way she wanted her to and it still hurt. She needed more time to figure this out, to work out how to stop feeling this way about Stacie.

She didn't really have anything to do in LA, she just needed to get away. She had tried to fill up her time with work but there wasn't a lot she could do here besides schmooze with investors and studio executives and she hated it. But she wasn't ready to go back yet. "I need a few more days here." She faked a loud yawn. "I'm really tired Stace, I'll call you tomorrow?"

Stacie pouted. "Yeah, sure. Goodnight, Bree."

"Night. Get home safe."

Stacie looked at the screen with a small smile as the call ended. That conversation, even though it had been brief, had been more like how they used to be before the kiss.

She knew she was just torturing herself, that trying to make things stay the way they were would only make it harder for her. But if she pushed Aubrey away when she was already avoiding her would only make her end up farther.

The taxi stopped in front of her building and she walked inside, squinting at the too bright lights of the elevator and trying to find her floor number. She stumbled down the hallway to her door fumbling with her keys before she managed to get the door opened. She blindly made her way to her room, dropping face down over the covers and hoping that maybe next time she goes out it won't feel so wrong to go home with a stranger.

* * *

This wasn't working. After her call with Stacie the previous night she had realized that she was nowhere closer to getting over her feelings for her as she was when she got here. Being a the practical person that she was, having realized that avoidance was getting her nowhere, she decided that a change of tactics was in order. Although she wasn't exactly clear on what that change would be.

Having a plan to make a plan was still better than the stagnation she was previously in, so she got out of bed in a better mood than she had been for the past week. Her change in mood also had to do with the fact that she had finally talked to Stacie. And in the spirit of non-avoidance, instead of ignoring this, she tried to focus instead on the platonic portion of those feelings.

She grabbed her phone from the bedside table to check up on Stacie's post-party state when a call from Chloe came in. "Hey, Chlo, what's up?"

"Have you seen this?"

Aubrey frowned confused. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"It's everywhere! Do a google search for Staubrey."

Aubrey rolled her eyes but grabbed her tablet and did as Chloe said. She frowned at the first result and clicked to open the article.

_**Staubrey No More?** _

_It looks like Stacie Conrad's relationship with producer Aubrey Posen is in trouble after only two months. The actress was seen partying with friend Fat Amy at a few clubs last night. The duo's night ended in Brooklyn's Black Flamingo, where Conrad was photographed dancing and making out with a mystery man. Conrad was seen leaving the club shortly after, although it wasn't confirmed if she left by herself._

_Conrad hasn't made any comments on social media about her relationship in a while. The unusual behaviour was attributed to the fact that Posen has been in LA for the past week, but this might suggest that their relationship wasn't as perfect as it looked._

"Shit, Stacie, what did you do?" Aubrey muttered under her breath.

"So?" Chloe asked insistently while Aubrey scrolled down to look at the pictures. Her stomach turned at the sight of Stacie kissing that guy. She knew Stacie didn't owe her anything but the thought of her kissing someone else so soon after kissing her hurt her more than she would ever admit. "She's cheating on you!"

Chloe's voice brought her back from the spiral of self pity she was about to slide down and she tried to rationalize the consequences of the article. Something like this wouldn't be good for Stacie right now. If she wanted to get her Tony she needed the media on her side.

"She's not cheating on me, that's-" Aubrey wasn't sure how to justify those pictures. "We're good."

"What? What do you mean you're good? Did you not see the picture of her playing tonsil hockey with that guy?"

"It was just a kiss, Chlo, it didn't mean anything." She wasn't sure if she was trying to convince herself that their kiss didn't mean anything, or trying to convince Chloe that Stacie's kiss with the guy meant nothing, maybe both.

"How do you know it was just a kiss? She could've taken the guy home for all you know!"

She was relieved that Stacie had called her last night on the way home, she didn't need the added stress of wondering if she'd slept with the guy too. "She didn't. I'll call you later, Chlo. I need to deal with this."

She hung up and was about to call Stacie when she realized she had no idea what they were going to do next. However she felt didn't matter right now, she had to help Stacie get out of this mess. She needed to work out a plan before she called Stacie or the brunette would panic and do something more stupid.

Breaking up would put an end to speculation but it might not be so good for Stacie's image. If they decided to stay together they had to handle it correctly. She wasn't equipped to deal with a PR crisis like this, she had people for that.

She shook her head and pressed the call button on her phone.

* * *

Stacie buried her head further under her pillow trying to drown out the ringing of her phone. She sighed and uncovered her head when it stopped but it started again a couple of seconds later. She groaned and crawled over to the edge of the bed, stretching to get her jeans from where she let them fall at some point during the night.

She got the phone out of the back pocket and rolled over to the middle of the bed before answering the call without looking at the screen. "What?"

"Hello to you too, jerk." Beca replied annoyed. "Can you tell your doorman to let me in? You're not answering the intercom and there's a million paparazzi out here."

Stacie rubbed her face to try to wake herself up. "Did we have plans? What time is it?"

"It's after noon. Can you just let me in?"

"Yeah, give me a minute." Stacie yawned and got up, not bothering to put on pants and walking to the kitchen. "Hey, Dave, can you let my friend Beca up?... Yeah, the little angry one… Thanks."

She opened the door and returned to the kitchen, starting the coffee machine and pouring herself a bowl of cereal. She heard the door close a couple of minutes later and Beca calling out her name. She yelled out she was in the kitchen and stood up to get some mugs for the coffee.

"Have you-" Beca stopped talking and just stared at Stacie reaching up for the mugs in just her underwear and a tank top. "Where are your pants?"

"You can't come into people's apartments when they just woke up and expect them to be wearing pants." She turned around and smirked at her. "Close your mouth, your gay is showing. Coffee?"

Beca shook her head and sat down scowling. "Yes, please."

"So, why are you here?" She slid her coffee across the kitchen island and sat opposite her. "We don't have to reshoot something, do we?"

"No that's not-" She seemed to remember what she was doing there and frowned. "Have you completely lost your mind?"

Stacie's eyes widened. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Why were you kissing some rando at a club last night?"

"How did you-"

"Everyone knows!" Beca took out her phone and showed her the pictures.

"Shit." Beca nodded. "Shit, shit, shit."

"What the hell happened with you and Aubrey at that party? You were acting really weird and now this." Beca motioned at the pictures with a confused look.

Stacie bit her lip considering her options. She could keep lying but she wasn't sure how she was going to justify this, or she could tell Beca the truth and maybe she could help her think of a way to fix this. "Aubrey and I weren't really dating."

"What do you mean you weren't really dating? You're always together."

Stacie sighed. "It wasn't real. It was an act to get the press off my back."

Beca frowned, opening and closing her mouth as she thought back to every time she'd seen Aubrey and Stacie together. It didn't make sense. "Stacie, you're a great actress but no one's that good. You can't expect me to believe it was all fake."

"It wasn't for me. I didn't realize it until recently and I was going to tell her but I kissed her and her reaction was just..." Stacie shook her head. "She clearly doesn't feel the same way. And then she just left." She pointed at the pictures. "I thought this would help me get over her."

Beca rolled her eyes. "You really are stupid sometimes."

"What-" Stacie's phone started ringing and she looked down at her phone with mild panic when she read Aubrey's name. "Do you think she's seen the pictures?"

"Probably." Beca shrugged and motioned for her to pick up.

Stacie steeled herself before accepting the call. "Hey, Bree."

"Have you seen the pictures?"

Stacie felt a stab in her chest at Aubrey's tone. She didn't sound mad, she would've preferred it if she was mad. She was completely calm and impersonal. "Yeah, Beca just showed me. Aubrey, it didn't mean anything, I was just-"

"It doesn't matter, Stacie. You don't have to explain." Aubrey took a deep breath to try to keep her calm facade. "Do you want us to break up?"

"What? No, it was a stupid mistake. I was drunk." Stacie pinched the bridge of her nose. Breaking up was probably the best idea right now, especially with how she felt about Aubrey, but she couldn't.

"Okay, okay, we're not breaking up. I just wanted to know how you felt." Stacie exhaled relieved. "I talked to Gail and we worked out a plan. I'm taking the next flight back. Stay in your apartment and don't talk to anyone. No tweets or anything, she'll handle the press."

Stacie wasn't as nervous but Aubrey still sounded detached and it worried her. "Bree, are we okay?"

Aubrey's heart melted a little at how worried Stacie sounded. Her voice softened a little. "We're good. I'll be there later, okay? We'll get through this."

"Okay." Stacie chuckled releasing the tension that had been building up in her since her phone rang "Thank you."

"I have to go, I have to pack and get to the airport." Stacie heard shuffling on the other side of the line. "Don't do anything until I get there."

Aubrey hung up and Stacie just stared at her phone for a whole minute trying to figure out what had just happened. Aubrey wasn't making them break up, she was going to stay with her and help her get out of this.

"Well?" Beca was looking at her intently. "What did she say?"

"She talked to my agent and she's handling the press. Aubrey's flying back later." Stacie smiled. "We're good, we're not breaking up."

Beca smiled but shook her head. "You still think she doesn't feel the same way about you?"

Stacie knit her brows. She hadn't thought about it that way. "She's just being a good friend."

"Well she's a better friend than me then." Beca stood up to leave. "I wouldn't give up on her yet."


	8. Chapter 8

_**Aubrey Posen: "My girlfriend doesn't need a man to be happy."** _

_In a surprising turn of events, Stacie Conrad's girlfriend Aubrey Posen is not leaving the actress after the pictures of her kissing a mystery man in a nightclub were released this morning. The official word from Stacie's people has been that it was a drunken mistake and that the actress and the producer are working things out._

_While Conrad has stayed silent since the photos came out, Posen was caught leaving her hotel earlier where she told one of the photographers, "My girlfriend doesn't need a man to be happy." And while she didn't look very happy, she's at least still calling Conrad her girlfriend._

* * *

When Aubrey went down to check out she noticed the crowd of paparazzi gathered outside the door. She sighed, hoping they were there for someone else but she knew it was a long shot. She finished checking out and made sure her car was already outside before sliding her sunglasses down over her eyes and walking out the door.

The army of cameras started flashing as soon as she was on the other side of the door, people shouting at her from every direction.

"Aubrey! Aubrey!"

"Are you breaking up with Stacie?"

"Are you going back to New York?"

"Did she sleep with that guy? Has she slept with other people?"

"Why did she do it? Did she miss being with a man?"

Aubrey stopped at that. She knew the guy who shouted that was only doing it to provoke her, that she shouldn't respond.

"Tell her to come find me next time." The guy laughed and Aubrey turned on her heels.

She stalked forward, squeezing her fists tight and feeling her nails digging into her palms. She was aware of the multiple cameras directed at her and she took a couple of deep calming breaths. "Listen, dirtball, my girlfriend doesn't need a man to be happy. Especially not a dipshit lowlife like you."

She walked away to her waiting car, ignoring the onslaught of questions that followed her outburst. She slammed the door closed and let out an annoyed groan. She had wanted to punch that idiot's face but that would have made things way worse.

She didn't relax until she was sitting in front of her gate waiting for her flight. She took out her phone to check her texts, there were a couple from Ashley confirming she cleared her schedule for what was left of the week and a few from Chloe freaking out.

"Excuse me, are you Aubrey Posen?"

Aubrey looked up to find a teenage girl standing in front of her. She quirked an eyebrow at her . "Yes."

"Are you gonna break up with Stacie?"

Aubrey opened her mouth to tell her it was none of her business but she figured she was one of Stacie's fans, and she knew Stacie wouldn't appreciate her being rude. Besides, they had made it everyone's business since they started this charade. "I won't."

The girl sat next to Aubrey and looked at her shoes. She looked around sixteen, her blonde hair was long and straight and she had to push it away from her eyes when she looked back up. "But she cheated on you."

"It's complicated." Aubrey sighed, wondering how she ended up justifying her relationship with Stacie to this girl. She knew she would probably have to do it several more times in the coming days so she might as well start practicing. "She made a mistake, but it was just one kiss. She's sorry it happened and I forgave her."

The girl pursed her lips in thought and nodded. "Do you love her?"

Aubrey smiled sadly. "Yes, I love her very much."

Aubrey's flight was called to start boarding and she gave the girl an apologetic smile before she turned to gather her things. The girl called out as she was walking away. "Good luck."

* * *

Aubrey leaned on the wall between the kitchen and the living room looking at the sleeping brunette on the couch with a bittersweet smile. It was late so she had gone straight to Stacie's apartment from the airport and as she turned the key in the lock, her key, she felt like she was coming home.

The feeling intensified when she walked inside and found Stacie sleeping on the couch. Her eyes roamed over her body, from her bare feet, past the sliver of skin from her abdomen where her shirt had ridden up, to the book resting on her chest and her peaceful smile.

She felt her heart flutter and she tightened her grip on her suitcase reminding herself that just because she had a key it didn't mean that she belonged here. She took a couple of seconds before taking a step forward.

She stopped again. She wondered if she should wake Stacie up or not. They still needed to talk about how they were going to handle this but it could wait until the morning. Gail had already talked to a few reporters saying they were still together and things had calmed down. There had still been a few paparazzi outside the building when she arrived but they limit themselves to taking pictures as she walked by.

She turned away from the couch deciding to let Stacie sleep, and started walking to the guest bedroom. She was almost past the living room when Stacie's voice, raspy with sleep, stopped her. "You're here."

Aubrey took a moment to push down the butterflies that rose in her stomach at the sound before turning around to face her. She was sitting up with her arms crossed on the back of the couch and her cheek resting on top of them. Her hair was mussed, little wisps of hair sticking out in every direction making Aubrey want to reach out and smooth it back.

She walked to the couch and clasped her hands together to keep herself from touching the brunette. "I just got in."

Stacie smiled up at her and reached out, unclasping Aubrey's hands and fiddling with her fingers. "I missed you."

Aubrey smiled back and squeezed Stacie's hand briefly before pulling her hand back. "I missed you too." She looked away, unable to keep looking into Stacie's eyes without feeling her heart swell. "Go to sleep, we can talk tomorrow."

She turned away but Stacie's hand on her arm stopped her. She felt her thumb swirl on the inside of her wrist before letting her go. "Do you want something to eat? I can make you a sandwich or order something..." She trailed off at the end and shrugged.

Aubrey bit her lip, not being able to resist brushing back a strand of Stacie's hair. She ran her fingers across her forehead and down the back of her ear. Stacie closed her eyes but Aubrey's hand was gone before she could really enjoy it. "I grabbed something at the airport but thanks."

"Bree, I-" She scrunched up her face not really knowing where to start. "-it didn't mean anything." Aubrey opened her mouth to say she didn't have to explain but Stacie lifted her hand to stop her. "I just want you to know that. It was stupid and I'm sorry and I know I put you in a terrible position, but I really appreciate you sticking it out with me even though I don't deserve it."

"Of course I'm sticking it out with you, you're my best friend." Aubrey sighed. She was relieved it hadn't meant anything to Stacie but the fact that she had gone and kissed someone else so publicly and so soon after their kiss reaffirmed her belief that Stacie wouldn't see her as more than a friend.

She walked around the couch to sit next to Stacie looking down at her lap and taking a moment to gather her thoughts. "You've always been there for me, Stace, I wouldn't just walk away and let you fix this on your own when I can help." She turned to look at her but averted her eyes as soon as they connected with Stacie's.

She wanted to reassure Stacie that things wouldn't change between them but she needed things to change, at least when they were by themselves. They couldn't keep muddling the line between what they did in public as a couple and how they acted in private as friends. "The press is already backing off a bit, we just have to keep acting as a couple in public."

Stacie kept looking at Aubrey, waiting for her to face her so she could read her. She had gone back to her detached, problem-solving tone that unnerved her. Instead of facing her, Aubrey slapped her hands on her lap and stood up, rounding the couch and walking back to where she'd left her suitcase. "Everything's gonna be fine, Stace."

* * *

And it was in a way. The press backed off after seeing them back together. They went on very public dates the rest of the week and Aubrey stayed at Stacie's apartment, in the guest room, a couple of nights. By the time Stacie started rehearsals for her play, everything had gone back to normal.

Well almost everything. While they had gone back to pretending to be in a relationship almost as smoothly as they had been before the kiss, Aubrey had been avoiding spending time alone with Stacie.

She didn't think too much of it at first. The day she arrived she figured Aubrey was just tired from traveling. The next time she said she'd stay she claimed she had some emails to send so she had sat on the dining room table by herself while Stacie watched TV in the living room. The time after that she said she had to make some calls and locked herself in the guest room, leaving for work before Stacie had even woken up.

Stacie hated it but now that she had started rehearsals she didn't really have a lot of time to do anything about it. She spent most of the day at rehearsal and whatever time she had left with her acting coach.

Today was the first day she had made plans with Aubrey that didn't involve meeting at a restaurant and Stacie was going to make sure it was perfect. She had popcorn and wine and movies and they would snuggle in front of the TV and everything would be back to normal.

She was in the kitchen putting the popcorn in a bowl when she heard the door and smiled. She was glad that at least Aubrey still felt comfortable enough to use her key. "I'll be right there!"

She grabbed the popcorn bowl in one hand and the two wine glasses in the other one and stepped into the living room, stopping suddenly and almost dropping the glasses when she saw someone else there. "Chloe! I didn't know you were coming."

The redhead gave her a forced smile. Aubrey stepped in and took the glasses from Stacie. "I thought it would be fun! We haven't hung out with Chlo in a while, babe."

She gave her a pleading look and Stacie smiled. "Yeah, it's gonna be awesome. I'll go get another glass from the kitchen."

She leaned on the kitchen counter for a moment and shook her head trying to understand why Aubrey couldn't stand to be alone with her. She felt a hand on her lower back and she immediately relaxed.

Aubrey rubbed her back soothingly and spoke softly. "I'm sorry, I know this isn't what we had planned but Chloe still thinks you cheated on me and I want you to get along. I thought that if she saw us together she'll understand that we're good."

Stacie scoffed and reached for another glass. "Are we?"

She walked out of the kitchen before Aubrey could respond, placing the third glass in front of Chloe. "Red or white?"

"Whatever you're having is fine."

Stacie frowned at the cold edge in Chloe's voice and turned to get the wine. Aubrey came back from the kitchen and sat on her usual spot on the couch reaching out to flip through the movies Stacie had laid out on the table. Aubrey leaned back to look at Stacie as she walked back with the bottle. "Can we watch Now You See Me?"

Stacie smiled and leaned down to kiss Aubrey's forehead as she walked around the couch. "Of course, baby."

Aubrey grinned and started the movie while Stacie finished pouring the wine and transferring the popcorn to two separate bowls, one for Chloe and one for them. She sat next to Aubrey when she was done, the blonde pulling her against her when she was close enough.

Stacie smiled, the good thing about Chloe being here is that she could do at least touch Aubrey without feeling weird about it. She nuzzled Aubrey's neck and kissed her jaw, feeling it twitch from Aubrey's smile.

She was aware of the disapproving glares Chloe kept throwing their way and they were starting to bother her. "Baby?"

Aubrey turned to face her arching an eyebrow and smirking. Stacie lowered her voice, her eyes moving to Chloe for a second. She lowered her voice trying to convey her sincerity with her tone. "I love you."

Aubrey rolled her eyes and smiled. "I love you too, baby." She gave her lips a quick kiss and turned back to the movie.

Stacie sat there in shock. They hadn't kissed since the day of the party, and even though this was a lot more chaste, it still left Stacie's lips tingling. She looked at Aubrey trying to find a sign of what she was thinking but she was watching the movie without looking at her.

Stacie leaned forward to take her glass from the table, not really paying attention to the movie they'd watched a million times. After a while, Aubrey grabbed the glass from Stacie's hand and set it on the table. She snuggled up to her side with a contented sigh and Stacie wrapped her arm around her shoulders.

She stayed there for the remainder of the movie, one arm around Stacie's waist keeping her close and her head on her shoulder. Stacie melted against her, forgetting Chloe was there and just letting herself enjoy Aubrey's closeness.

This was the longest time they had spent together like this in a while and she knew that, even though Aubrey was putting up a show for Chloe, there were things that weren't part of the act. The way she pressed herself as close to Stacie as she could or the way her fingers brushed over her stomach weren't things that Chloe would notice.

When the movie was over, Aubrey stayed snuggled against her and Stacie turned her head to kiss the top of her head, taking a deep breath against her hair. Aubrey groaned and stretched against her, her arms tightening around her waist. "We should go."

Stacie shook her head, rubbing her nose on top of Aubrey's head. "You're not staying?"

"I have an early meeting tomorrow. We can do lunch or dinner though." She stood up and pulled Chloe to her feet.

Stacie followed them to the door, leaning on the door frame and nodding at Chloe. "It was nice seeing you Chloe."

Chloe tried to smile but her arms were crossed and her eyes were less than friendly before she turned and headed for the elevator. Stacie shrugged and looked at Aubrey. "I tried."

Aubrey took her hand. "I know, I'll talk to her." She kissed Stacie's cheek softly. "Call me if you're free for lunch."

Aubrey walked out and followed Chloe to the elevator. Stacie leaned out and called out after them. "Night! I love you!" Aubrey turned and waved her fingers at her. "I miss you already!"

Aubrey rolled her eyes and blew a kiss at her, letting Chloe pull her inside the elevator and watching Stacie disappear when the doors closed. She chuckled softly to herself and shook her head.

"So you guys are back to being disgustingly adorable."

Aubrey turned to Chloe and nodded. "I told you we were fine, Chlo. You can't hate my girlfriend forever."

"But she hurt you!"

"And I forgave her." Aubrey squeezed Chloe's arm. "Chlo, I appreciate you looking out for me but we worked things out, you have no reason to hate her."

Chloe looked at Aubrey still frowning and shrugged. "I'm not as forgiving as you."

The elevator doors opened again when they reached the first floor and Aubrey walked out but Chloe pulled her to the side before she could continue walking. "Are you really okay? You ran back to her as soon as you heard. You're allowed to be mad at your girlfriend for kissing some guy."

"I know and I was mad but then she explained and we're good now. Really." She turned her hand so she could take the hand Chloe had used to grab her. She took a deep breath and said the first honest thing she had said about her relationship to Chloe. "I love her. I've never felt this way about anyone before."

Chloe twisted her lip and studied Aubrey. After a few moments she sighed. "Okay, I'll be nicer. But if she pulls something like that again I will kill her."


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not a review writer so the review is from Ben Brantley's review of the 2006 production of Hedda Gabler with Cate Blanchett from the New York Times (March 3, 2006).

  _ **A Heroine in a Hurry, via Ibsen** _

_[...]_

_How often do you get to watch an actress of such virtuosity pulling out every stop of her instrument and then some? Playing Ibsen's destructively dissatisfied heroine, Ms. Conrad is a moody perpetual motion machine, twirling among several centuries' worth of acting styles. She variously brings to mind the deep-toned grandeur of a Bernhardt or Duse, the refined screwball stylings of Katharine Hepburn and a very contemporary self-satirizing malcontent. All of which would be merely entertaining or irritating — depending upon your tolerance level — except for the instances of genuine, revelatory brilliance that suddenly sear the air like a camera flash._

_The line on performers who are identified mostly with the big screen is that they are guaranteed to shrink once you plop them on a stage, without the magnifying benefits of the camera and the mistake-erasing magic of the editing room. Say what you like about Ms. Conrad's Hedda, but you can't call it small or technically unaccomplished. There's not a word or gesture, however seemingly incidental, that doesn't register large here. It's just that they come in so darn many shapes and sizes._

_[...]_

* * *

Aubrey looked up from her computer at the knock on the door. "Come in."

The door was pushed open slowly and Beca's head popped in. She smiled awkwardly and took a couple hesitant steps inside. "Hey, I came to drop off some papers."

"You could've just sent those, you didn't have to come in."

"I know, but I wanted to talk to you about something."

Aubrey stood up and motioned to the couches on the corner of her office. "Did you have questions about the contract?"

"No, it's not about that." Beca sat across from Aubrey. "I just wanted to know how you were doing with the whole Stacie business."

Aubrey arched an eyebrow. "How I'm doing?"

"Yeah, I mean, Stacie told me you're not really together but it still must have been hard to see her kissing someone else."

Aubrey tried to keep her expression neutral but Beca noticed the slight frown when she mentioned the kiss. "I'm fine, Stacie doesn't owe me anything."

Beca smirked. "It's good that you've never tried to act in your own movies, you suck."

Aubrey glared at Beca and was about to respond when the door opened. "Bree, I have the contract…" Chloe looked at Beca and then at Aubrey. "Sorry, the door was open."

Aubrey stood up. "Beca, this is Chloe, the head of legal."

Beca stood up to shake Chloe's hand. "Hi, I'm-"

"I know who you are." Chloe took a step back and crossed her arms, eyeing the brunette suspiciously. She turned to Aubrey and handed her the folder she was carrying. "I'll just leave this with you, we can talk about it later."

She walked out without acknowledging Beca and closed the door behind her.

"What's her problem?" Beca said crossing her arms and frowning at the closed door.

Aubrey sighed and dropped the folder on her desk. "Stacie. She knows you're friends and she's not very happy with what she did or that we stayed together. She doesn't know we're not really together."

Beca nodded still frowning and turned to Aubrey. "Yeah, if Stacie hadn't told me the whole story I don't know what I would think." Beca chuckled. "Actually I do know, I would think she was an idiot for ruining a relationship with someone she clearly loves and makes her happy."

"But now you know that's all part of the act so it doesn't matter."

Beca snorted. "Right." She turned to leave, stopping at the door and turning back to Aubrey. "Look, Stacie is an amazing actress, but she's not that good."

Aubrey absentmindedly waved goodbye to Beca, thinking about what she said and not understanding it. She grabbed the folder Chloe had handed her and opened it on her desk, looking at it but not really reading it. Stacie _was_ an amazing actress, she didn't get why Beca said that unless she was implying that she wasn't acting when she was with Aubrey.

She thought back to before they had started pretending to be in a relationship. Stacie had always been touchy with her but it somehow felt different now. Even when they started pretending to be in a relationship, the first few weeks were different than the weeks leading up to their first kiss. Aubrey had assumed it was just because they had gotten used to pretending, that they had gotten better at it.

But if she was honest with herself, her own ease had increased as her feelings for Stacie changed. She hadn't considered that it could have been the same for Stacie. She didn't have feelings for her, she was sure. Or she thought she was sure before Beca made that comment.

If anyone knew how Stacie felt it was her. She would have told her when she confessed they were pretending to be in a relationship. Maybe she told Beca she did have feelings for her.

Aubrey squashed the thought before it fully formed in her mind. She couldn't let herself hope, it already hurt too much as it was and if she was wrong she didn't know if she could keep acting like everything was okay with Stacie. She knew Stacie noticed the change after they kissed, that she wasn't happy with the current state of their relationship.

She went on with her day trying not to think about it, but the seed of hope had grown without her knowledge or consent and it was all she could think about by the time she went to bed. She kept replaying their kiss, Stacie's lips, her hands, her scent. It had felt real but then it ended and Stacie had dismissed it. But she had stayed close, Aubrey had been the one to really pull away, to walk away. Maybe she had given Stacie the wrong idea.

She remembered all the times Stacie had told her she loved her when no one else had been around, when the words hadn't been spoken for someone else to overhear them. When it was just her and Stacie and she had looked at her like she was the only person in the world that mattered before saying those words. When Aubrey had said them back without pretending, meaning them.

She felt her chest getting heavy. She needed to know if Stacie meant them.

She turned and reached for her phone. It was late but she didn't care. She dialed and started talking as soon as she heard the groggy voice on the other end of the line. "What the fuck did you mean, Mitchell?"

"Aubrey?"

"Yes, it's me. What did you mean when you said Stacie wasn't that good an actress?"

She heard Beca sigh and shuffle around. "Dude, do you know what time it is? I was sleeping."

"Beca, please." Aubrey didn't care that she was begging. "I need to know."

"Maybe you should talk to Stacie about this."

"I can't talk to Stacie until I know what you meant!" Aubrey took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I just can't do anything until I know for sure it's not going to ruin our relationship."

"It's not." Beca groaned and Aubrey heard more shuffling. "Stacie's gonna kill me for this. She loves you, okay? She's in love with you. And I'm tired of her moping around because she thinks you don't love her back so go tell her you do and let me sleep."

Beca hung up and Aubrey stared at her phone trying to process what she had said. She had noticed Stacie had been a bit down lately but she thought she was just tired from her show or just annoyed because Aubrey had been acting distant. Also, it had been hard to match their schedules since previews of her play had started so she hadn't seen her in a while. She was going to opening night that Thursday.

Aubrey bit her lip. She didn't know if she could sit on this information for two more days but she still wasn't sure what she was going to do about it. They needed to talk about what this meant and if they were going to start dating for real. And Stacie was going to have to explain why she kissed someone else if she had feelings for her.

But if what Beca was saying was true, and Aubrey had no reason to think she'd lied, then they could stop this ridiculous charade, she could stop lying to Chloe and, more importantly, she could really be with Stacie.

Aubrey smiled at the prospect and lay back. The heavy ache in her chest she had been feeling since the night she kissed Stacie finally subsided, letting her sleep better than she had in weeks.

* * *

Aubrey hummed as she walked to her office. She went in, not bothering to close the door, and hung her jacket on the coat rack next to the door before walking to her desk and powering on her computer. She tapped her fingers on her blotter as she waited for it to start up, bobbing her head to the tune she was humming.

"You're humming." Aubrey looked up startled by Chloe's intrusion. Chloe narrowed her eyes suspiciously at her. "You never hum."

Aubrey shrugged. "I didn't notice I was doing it."

Aubrey turned back to her computer with a smile and opened her email. She didn't notice Chloe coming closer until she was leaning across her desk. "Why are you so happy?"

Aubrey jumped back to get away from Chloe. "Chloe, what? I'm not- I'm seeing Stacie later, that's why I'm happy."

"Oh." Chloe straightened up and looked at Aubrey thoughtfully.

Aubrey arched an eyebrow at her. "What?"

"Nothing, she just really makes you happy."

Aubrey's smile widened. "She does."

Chloe nodded pensively. Aubrey could tell she was trying to understand it, she still hadn't come to terms with the fact that she and Stacie were okay, and Aubrey knew it was because she didn't know the whole story. "Chlo, I need to tell you something."

Aubrey stood up and closed the door, ushering Chloe to seat on the chairs in front of her desk and taking the chair next to her. Chloe looked at her with a worried expression and remained standing. "Are you firing me?"

Aubrey frowned. "No, why would you think that?"

"I don't know! You never close the door and I've kind of been a bitch to your girlfriend" Chloe lowered her voice, "even though she deserves it."

Aubrey rolled her eyes and motioned at the chair again. "I'm not going to fire you, just sit."

Chloe sat but her face remained worried.

Aubrey wrung her hands as she thought how to begin. "Do you remember how Stacie had kind of a reputation before we started dating?"

Chloe scoffed and shook her head. "Yeah."

"Stacie thought, and I agreed, that she could improve her image if she had a serious relationship with someone, but she didn't want to date anyone. So when the rumors of us being together started, she, well we, thought it wouldn't hurt if we fed those rumors." Chloe frowned confusedly at Aubrey. "So we started pretending to date and, well, I couldn't tell you the truth because the less people knew the more we could control the information."

"So all this time you've been pretending to date? But how… what…" Chloe looked more confused than ever and just kept shaking her head. "You love her. You were just humming because you're seeing her later."

Aubrey smiled again and ducked her head slightly blushing. "I fell in love with her while we were pretending to date. I didn't mean to, or want to, it just happened."

"So you're together for real now?"

Aubrey shook her head. "I haven't told her how I feel yet. I'm going to do that tonight." Aubrey bit her lip and looked up at Chloe nervously. "Do you think she loves me back? Beca said she did but what if she was wrong or Stacie's not ready?"

Chloe smiled and rolled her eyes. "I know I've been a pain in the ass about this, but it's obvious that she loves you." She paused for a moment and then look at Aubrey with narrowed eyes. "Did something happen before she kissed that guy? I remember you leaving for LA was kind of... abrupt."

Aubrey smiled guiltily and recounted her side of the story, from the moment she realized she had feelings for Stacie to their kiss and what had happened afterwards. "...I didn't know what else to do, I needed to get away to figure things out. But then she kissed that guy and I had to come back and things have been weird since then."

"Well now that kiss makes a lot more sense! You know, this whole thing would have been avoided if you had told me the truth from the beginning. I would have made you tell her you loved her and none of this would have happened. You could be married by now for all we know."

Aubrey laughed. "I've known I loved her for less than three months, I seriously doubt we'd be married."

"We'll never know now." Chloe deadpanned. "So you're telling her tonight?"

Aubrey nodded. "I'm going to wait until after the play just in case, I don't want to ruin her opening night."

Chloe squealed and launched herself at Aubrey. "I'm so happy for you!"

Aubrey smiled and hugged her back deciding not to comment on the fact that Chloe had been suspicious of Stacie's intentions up until an hour ago. She was relieved she had finally come clean to Chloe but she was starting to get really nervous about doing the same with Stacie.

* * *

Stacie's leg bounced up and down as she waited for Aubrey to join her. She didn't remember ever being this nervous before, she felt like she was going to throw up. Finally Aubrey opened the car door and slid in.

Stacie felt her nerves ease up a notch just by her presence. She was wearing a knee length burgundy dress with a flowy skirt and wide straps. her hair was pulled back in a slightly off-center, loose bun.

Aubrey smiled brightly at Stacie and kissed her cheek. "Hi."

Stacie gave her a strained smile and squeezed her hand. "Hey."

Aubrey adjusted her hand and laced her fingers feeling Stacie's tension. She brushed the fingers of her free hand across her forehead soothingly. "Relax. You're gonna be amazing, you've been doing the show for a month already. It's just like any other night."

"Except there's gonna be critics and not just people who already love me." Her hand tightened painfully around Aubrey's.

Aubrey moved her other hand to her cheek. "'I'll be there and I already love you." She sat up and motioned at her purse. "Take out your phone, we're taking a picture."

Stacie smiled and did as she was told. Aubrey always complained when she wanted to take a picture to post on Instagram so this was a pleasant change. Stacie opened her app and looked at her questioningly, waiting for her to nod before she held it out to take the picture. Aubrey pressed her lips to her cheek and Stacie's smile widened.

Aubrey rubbed her lipstick off Stacie's cheek while she finished the post, showing it to the blonde before uploading it.

 _**StacieConrad** _ _On our way to opening night! #soexcited #HeddaGablerBway_

Stacie put her phone back in her purse feeling a lot more calm than before. She looked at Aubrey and pulled her closer, letting go of her hand and wrapping her arm around her shoulders. Aubrey molded herself to her side, her hand resting lightly on her thigh. "I missed you."

"Me too. I need to work out my schedule so I can see you more often."

Stacie nodded against her head. "You should come hang in my dressing room, at least I'd see you during intermission."

"What am I going to do while you're onstage?"

Stacie shrugged. "Read? Think about me? Catch up on Grey's Anatomy?"

Aubrey scoffed and tried to sit up but Stacie moved her hand to her waist and Aubrey let her pull her back against her side.

They stayed like that until the car slowed down in front of the theater and Stacie's leg started bouncing nervously again. Aubrey straightened up and took Stacie's hand. "It's gonna be good. You're great, Stace."

Stacie looked at her and nodded, giving her a little nudge to signal that she was ready to get out. Aubrey turned and opened the door, keeping Stacie's hand in hers and helping her get out.

There was a line of reporters between them and the stage door who immediately turned their cameras towards them as they got on the curb. Stacie immediately put on a big smile on her face and walked their way, her previous nervousness only noticeable by how strong her hold on Aubrey's hand was.

Aubrey kept moving her thumb in circles over the back of her hand softly hoping it would help keep Stacie calm. She wasn't really listening to any of the reporters, she kept her eyes on Stacie, until she felt a light squeeze on her hand. "Baby?"

"Huh?" Aubrey looked between Stacie and the reporter confused.

"I asked if you were excited to see the play." The reporter repeated with a smirk.

"Oh, yes, of course!" Aubrey stepped closer to Stacie and let go of her hand to place her hand on Stacie's back. "I only saw a bit of it when they were in rehearsals, I can't wait to see how it turned out. And I know Stacie's going to be amazing."

Stacie kissed her cheek quickly but before she could pull away Aubrey turned her head and captured her lips in a quick kiss. The reporter chuckled and Aubrey turned back to face her blushing. The reporter smiled at them. "I'll catch you after the show to get your thoughts on it."

"Sure."

Aubrey let Stacie pull her down the line while she talked to the rest of the reporters. She occasionally answered a question or two but she was mostly silent, watching Stacie with a small smile as her ease seemed to increase.

They finally reached the stage door and went into the hallway that led to the backstage area. Aubrey waited for Stacie to sign in but she pulled her back when she turned to go to her dressing room. "I should go take my seat."

Stacie pouted. "There's still time."

"I know but you have to get ready and I'll only get in the way. I'll come straight after it's done."

Stacie twisted her lip displeased but nodded.

Aubrey cupped her cheeks and took a step closer to her. "Break a leg."

She kissed her lips softly, pulling back a fraction when she heard, and felt, Stacie's surprised gasp. But Stacie quickly recovered and closed the gap, pressing her lips against Aubrey's with a little bit more pressure, her hands pulling her closer by her lower back.

Stacie tilted her head and swiped her tongue over the seam of Aubrey's lips but the blonde pulled back, pressing one last peck on her lips before taking a full step back and dropping her hands. "I'll see you later."


	10. Chapter 10

_**All Is Well in Staubreyland** _

_Staubrey shippers rejoice! After more than a month of Stacie Conrad's relationship with producer Aubrey Posen being on shaky terms following the pictures of Conrad kissing someone else, it seems that they finally put the past behind them and they are closer than ever. Posen attended the opening night of Conrad's new play Hedda Gabler and they were caught in camera sharing some tender moments, including more than a few kisses. Party attendees mention that they were together from the moment they got there and did not separate at all, leaving together at the end of the night._

* * *

" _Shot herself! Shot herself in the temple! Fancy that!"_

" _Good God!—people don't do such things."_

The lights went off and the audience stayed in stunned silence for a few seconds before erupting into thundering applause. By the time the curtain opened again everyone was on their feet. The cast took their bows, the applause getting impossibly louder as Stacie walked down the stage to take her final bow, finding Aubrey in the third row and throwing her a wink. Aubrey blew her a kiss and shook her head laughing.

The curtain closed again and Aubrey waited for the people in her row to start moving while she gathered her coat and purse, carefully putting her playbill inside.

Once outside she made her way to the end of the line of people waiting at the stage door and got on the other side of the barricades. There were a few people gathering around the door and she waited for them to pass before stepping up to the guy in front. She opened her mouth to tell him who she was but he waved her over with a smile.

She wasn't really sure where she was supposed to go once she got in so she just followed the hallway until she ran into a short girl with a curtain of bright pink hair. "Hi, I'm looking for Stacie?"

The girl checked her out with a smirk. "You're the girlfriend she won't stop talking about. I'm Cynthia Rose, stage manager." Aubrey shook her hand, smiling at the comment that Stacie talked about her. "Her dressing room is the last one on the right. Some of the cast and crew are still down on the stage celebrating but she should be up in a minute."

Aubrey nodded and made her way down to Stacie's dressing room. A piece of tape was stuck on top of Stacie's name on the door, the words "Superstar" scribbled with permanent marker on it. The word star was crossed out and someone else wrote "pain in the ass" under it.

Aubrey chuckled and pushed the door open and dropped her coat on the small couch that occupied one side of the room. She went to the long mirror on the other side and checked her make-up, noticing a picture of her and Stacie clinging to one of the corners. She picked it up with a smile and ran her fingers over it before putting it back.

She was finishing reapplying mascara when the door opened and Stacie walked in still in costume, stopping when she noticed Aubrey was already there. She turned and hugged her warmly. "You were amazing!"

Stacie hugged her back squeezing hard. The tension from tonight slowly seeping out of her. She chuckled, choking out a sob against Aubrey's neck and the blonde took a step back, framing her face with her hands and making her look up. "Hey, what is it?"

Stacie shook her head and gave her a watery smile. "Nothing." She laughed and looked down. "Stress build up."

Aubrey wiped her cheeks with her thumbs. She was trying to decide if kissing her now would be okay when the door opened again.

Stacie looked at the person who came in and took a step back without taking her hands off Aubrey. "Bree, this is Denise, she's my dresser."

"Sorry to interrupt but I need your costume."

Stacie nodded and stepped to the other side of the room where Denise helped her take off the dress and remove the pins holding her hair in a tight bun. Stacie ran her fingers through her hair, groaning at the relief from not having it pulling on her scalp.

Aubrey had taken a seat on the couch and was looking through her phone, trying not to turn and look at Stacie who was currently standing just in her underwear.

Denise hung the dress on a rack and grabbed a garment bag from another one. "Here's your dress. Lilly stayed to do your hair and makeup for the party."

"Ugh do we have to go? I'm tired."

"Yes, darling, we have to go." Aubrey replied without looking up from her phone and Denise chuckled.

She had taken out the dress from the bag and was stepping up to help Stacie put it on when Stacie turned and took it with an amused smirk. "I think I can put this one on by myself. You go get ready for the party too." Denise handed her the dress and Stacie hugged her before she left. "Thanks for everything, D."

Stacie put on the dress. It was a long black, halter top dress that molded perfectly to her body. She finished adjusting the dress and turned to Aubrey. "Bree, can you zip me up?"

Aubrey looked up from her phone and her eyes roamed over Stacie's body before getting up. She stood behind Stacie and ran her fingers down the skin exposed on her back, smiling when she heard Stacie's shuddered exhalation. She zipped it up and wrapped her arms around Stacie's waist, kissing her shoulder before resting her chin there, taking advantage of the fact that she was wearing heels and Stacie was barefoot.

Stacie placed her hands over Aubrey's arms and leaned back closing her eyes. Aubrey felt a pang of fear at the prospect of breaching the subject to Stacie but she knew they wouldn't be alone for too long. "We need to talk."

Stacie's eyes opened slowly and she looked at Aubrey's reflection in the mirror in front of them. Aubrey could see the trepidation in her gaze. She smiled and tightened her arms around her pulling her closer, trying to reassure her that it wasn't bad.

The door opened loudly and a girl carrying a big make-up box walked into the room. Aubrey loosened her arms and dropped her forehead defeatedly on Stacie's shoulder. She pressed a kiss under her ear. "We'll talk later."

Stacie frowned confused while Aubrey took a step back but her attention got diverted by the box being dropped loudly on the vanity table's surface. "Umm, babe, this is Lilly."

"Hi, nice to-" The girl walked out of the room and came back carrying another box ignoring Aubrey. Stacie shook her head at her to let it go and sat down in front of the mirror.

Aubrey went back to checking her phone but she kept thinking about how close she'd been to telling Stacie and how she wished she'd be done with this so they could be alone.

However, everyone else had other plans. When Lilly was done with Stacie's hair and make-up one of the other cast members stopped by to ask if they wanted to share a car to the party. Once they were outside, she had to wait while Stacie signed playbills for the people who were still waiting which were a lot considering how long they'd taken to come out.

Once in the car she pressed herself close to Stacie, with the other actor sitting on her other side. She still had to play the part of the devoted girlfriend and she wasn't complaining.

"Did you like the show?"

"I loved it! It was great." She turned to Stacie. "And you were the greatest."

Stacie smiled. "Yeah?" Aubrey nodded as Stacie leaned forward and gave her a series of quick kisses.

Aubrey chuckled and pushed Stacie's shoulder back. "Baby, your friend's here."

"Oh Adam's not my friend." Stacie said trying to kiss her again but hitting her cheek when she turned her head.

"She's right, she's a pain in the ass." He said with an eyeroll.

Stacie pouted. "And he's mean."

"So I take it you're the dressing room door defacer?"

He gave her a lopsided grin. "You saw that? It's funny, isn't it?"

Aubrey smiled back. "It's a little funny."

"Hey! You're supposed to be on my side." Stacie poked her on the side and Aubrey squirmed away.

"I am! But you can be a pain in the ass sometimes." She ran her finger along her collarbone. "You make things way too hard."

Stacie arched an eyebrow at her but Aubrey didn't elaborate and soon the car was stopping. Aubrey was about to follow Adam out of the car when she felt Stacie tugging on her wrist. "Bree? What did you want to talk about?"

Aubrey smiled nervously at her and leaned closer. Adam was still holding the door open for them and yelled, "Conrad, come on! Your fans await."

"We need to have a full conversation about this but…" Aubrey didn't want Stacie to have any doubt about her intentions. She placed a tender kiss on her lips. "I love you and I want to be with you for real."

It took Stacie a couple of seconds to fully process what that meant before her face broke into a big smile. "You do?" Aubrey nodded and bit her lip trying to stop herself from matching Stacie's grin but failing. "I love you too."

"I know." Aubrey leaned forward again.

"Come on, stop making out!" There was a loud bang on the roof and Aubrey jumped back.

"To be continued." Aubrey said and go out of the car, pausing to take Stacie's hand once she was on the sidewalk.

Stacie stopped her before she could get too far and pulled her against her, lifting her free hand to cup her cheek and pausing for a second. Aubrey swallowed, her heart going into overdrive from the intensity in Stacie's gaze. She saw her eyes flit down to her lips and she licked them in anticipation.

Stacie moved her other hand to her waist and pulled her closer, leaning down to connect their lips in a soft kiss. Stacie tilted her head to the other side, their noses sliding together, before reconnecting their lips this time with more insistence. She felt Aubrey's tongue sweep over her lower lip before she sucked it into her mouth. She bit down on it and Stacie let out a low moan.

"Okay! You can stop that now." Aubrey let go of Stacie's lip and turned to find Gail standing between them and the line of reporters that were currently pointing their cameras at them.

"You came!" Stacie smiled at her agent still holding Aubrey close who was now blushing and turning her face away.

"I told you I would. But seriously Stacie, I know you guys are in love and everything but, can you tone it down while you're in front of a herd of reporters?"

Stacie looked at Aubrey at the mention of them being in love and Aubrey's heart fluttered happily inside her chest. Stacie placed one last quick kiss on Aubrey's lips ignoring Gail's glare and let her go. They followed Gail and Stacie groaned internally at having to talk to more people before being able to go inside.

"They're gonna want pictures on your own." Gail said when she noticed Stacie clutching Aubrey's hand and keeping her close.

Stacie frowned at Gail and looked at her hand not wanting to let go. "Why?"

Gail rolled her eyes but Aubrey squeezed her hand. "It's fine, baby, I'll start telling people how awesome you were while you take pictures."

Aubrey winked at Gail and let go of Stacie's hand, their fingers not losing contact until the last possible moment. Gail moved Stacie to a better lit spot. "That girl is the best, don't screw this up."

Stacie looked at Aubrey talking to a reporter further down the line and smiled. "I won't."

By the time Stacie was done with all her interviews Aubrey was already inside so she went in to look for her. It took longer than she would have wanted because a lot of people stopped her to congratulate her, but she finally found her by the bar with Beca.

She sneaked up behind her and wrapped her arms around her waist. "Hey, gorgeous, you wanna ditch this party and go home?"

"I don't think we can leave yet." Aubrey leaned back against her, tilting her head to the side when Stacie started peppering kisses on her neck.

"Okay, yeah. I see the difference. This is way grosser, go back to not being aware of your mutual love." Beca shook her head and closed her eyes.

"Shhh, Beca! You can't just say that when there's people around, jeez." Stacie tried to hit Beca's arm but she couldn't reach her without letting go of Aubrey and she didn't want to do that yet.

Beca took a step back and stuck her tongue out. "I'm sorry but look at her! She's smiling, it's weird."

This time Aubrey smacked Beca's arm. "Shut up, Mitchell. You act like you don't care but I know you're happy about this."

Beca glared at her but her expression softened when she noticed Stacie's adoring smile as she looked at Aubrey. "Whatever, Posen."

"If you didn't want us to be this, how did you put it... gross, you shouldn't have told me what you knew."

Stacie gasped behind Aubrey. "You told her?"

Beca's eyes widened and she took a step back. "I think I heard someone calling me over there."

She pointed at a random place away from Stacie and scurried away.

"She told you?" Stacie frowned and looked in the direction Beca had disappeared.

Aubrey turned around to face her. "Stacie." She waited until Stacie was looking back at her and she slid her hands up her arms and to her neck playing with the little hairs there. "Baby, are you happy?"

"That we're doing this? Of course! I love you."

Aubrey's stomach flipped still not used to Stacie actually meaning those words. "Then leave Beca alone and kiss me."

Stacie smiled and leaned forward and brushed her lips over Aubrey's softly. Aubrey used the hands on her neck to pull her closer and kissed her fully. She felt Stacie smile against her lips for a second before snaking her tongue out to glide over her lips. Aubrey opened her mouth and met Stacie's tongue with hers.

Stacie had turned her around and she could feel the edge of the bar pressing against her back. Stacie pressed her body closer to her and the feeling made her emit a moan that sent a shiver down Stacie's spine.

Aubrey remembered they were in a very public place and slowed down the kiss, ending it with a few pecks with her eyes still closed. Stacie brushed their noses together and rested her forehead against hers. "I love doing that."

Aubrey chuckled and opened her eyes, moving her hands to Stacie's shoulders. "Me too."

Stacie was moving forward to kiss her again when someone pulled her arm. "Conrad, we're playing, come!"

Stacie glared at the lighting tech that had interrupted them and smiled apologetically to Aubrey. "You can come to my place after this so we can talk. No interruptions."

Aubrey nodded. "Sounds good." She pushed Stacie back so she could get out from being pinned down against the bar. "Go."

Stacie took her hand and grinned. "You're coming with me."

She started pulling her to the corner of the room where most of the cast and crew were gathered. "What are we doing?"

Stacie ignored her and pulled her close when they got to the table where Cynthia Rose was carefully lining up shots. She looked up when Stacie arrived and smirked. "You're going down, Conrad."

"Bree's playing too." Stacie pushed Aubrey forward.

Cynthia Rose chuckled and shook her head. "Sure, why not?" She turned to the rest of the group. "Who's in?"

Three other people raised their hands and stepped forward, the rest took a step back to let the people who were playing stand around the table. Aubrey looked at them confused. "What is this?"

"Theatre Name Game. Someone starts up saying a name of someone famous, only theatre people, and the next person says a name that starts with the first letter of the previous person's last name. So, for example, if I say Idina Menzel you would say…"

Aubrey scrunched up her nose and thought for a second. "Maria Callas?"

"That's an opera singer, baby, but you get the idea, right?" Aubrey nodded and Stacie turned back to face the table. "Who goes first?"

"You're still the reigning champion, you start."

Stacie grinned and turned to Aubrey. "You go after me."

She waited for everyone else to stop talking and started. "Stephen Sondheim."

Aubrey smiled. "Stacie Conrad." Everyone around them booed and Aubrey frowned.

"Babe, you can't use the name of anyone here, that's cheating."

"I didn't know that!" She pouted.

Stacie looked around the circle. "One chance? She's new."

"Whatever, but she has to drink." Cynthia Rose pushed forward one of the rows of shots. "Come on, blondie."

Aubrey's eyes widened. "All of them?"

Stacie smiled sheepishly. "It used to be one shot but after the time it took CR and me an hour to lose we bumped it up to three."

Aubrey rolled her eyes but downed the first shot. By the time she got to the third one she could barely keep it down. She was grateful for Stacie's steadying hand on her waist and the fact that she could lean against her.

Once she swallowed, Stacie looked at her worriedly. "You okay?" She nodded, keeping her hand against her lips. "Ready to go again?" She nodded again and Stacie nodded at the guy next to Aubrey to start.

Aubrey didn't pay attention until she heard Stacie's voice again. "James Lapine."

"Laura Benanti!" Aubrey beamed at Stacie proudly and the brunette gave her a quick kiss.

She didn't have time to do more before it was her turn again. "Richard Rodgers."

Aubrey scrunched up her face in thought and then smiled. "Russell Crowe."

Everyone stopped and turned to look at her. Cynthia Rose pushed the next line of shots her way. "Yeah, you're out."

"He was in Les Mis?"

Stacie shook her head. "Baby, no."

"But he was! He was Javert! We watched it a few months ago."

Stacie looked around at people's amused smirks waiting for someone to explain to Aubrey why she lost but everyone looked like they were enjoying Stacie's suffering. "Bree, being in a movie musical doesn't make you a theatre person... You lost." Stacie picked one the shots and put it in Aubrey's hand. "Drink up."

Aubrey drank the three shots quickly which immediately added to her already slightly inebriated state from the three she'd had before.

The game continued without her but Aubrey wasn't interested anymore. She heard cheers and boos when the rest of the people started losing but she was too busy trying to keep herself upright to focus on anything that was happening around her. The only thing she felt was Stacie's arm around her and her hand rubbing small circles against her hip.

She felt Stacie's hand readjust on her hip and she looked up. Apparently only Stacie and Cynthia Rose were left playing and the rest of the cast and crew were watching rapt.

"Georgia Stitt." Stacie's hand moved absentmindedly against her side and Aubrey leaned her head on her shoulder.

"Sean Hayes." She turned her head and rubbed her nose against Stacie's jaw. She felt it twitch but Stacie didn't turn.

"Harry Connick Jr." She placed kisses on her jaw and up to her ear.

"Carrie Manolakos." Stacie's voice cracked and she tried to shift Aubrey's weight away but she melted right back against her side and continued peppering kisses on her neck.

Cynthia Rose smirked smugly before saying the next name. "Mary Martin."

Aubrey scraped her teeth against Stacie's neck making it really hard for Stacie to focus. "Marin Mazzie."

"You repeated a name! You lost!" Cynthia Rose threw her arms in the air. "I won! In your face, Conrad!"

Stacie opened her mouth in disbelief. In all the time they'd been playing this since rehearsals started she had only lost a couple of times. "I was distracted! It's not fair."

"Next time don't bring your girlfriend." Cynthia Rose pushed the shots at Stace gleefully.

Stacie glared at her before drinking them without pausing. "I'll get you next time."

The crowd dispersed and Aubrey threw her arms around Stacie's shoulders. "Did you lose?" Stacie nodded pouting slightly and Aubrey kissed her pouty lip, running her fingers along her collarbone. "I'll give you a consolation prize when we get home."

Stacie swallowed. "You're too drunk for anything when we get home." Aubrey shook her head but she had to lean against Stacie because the room started spinning. Stacie chuckled and held her close placing a kiss to the top of her head. "Let's get you home, drunky."


	11. Chapter 11

_**Was Stacie Conrad's Awaited Return to the Stage a Bust?** _

_After a lot of buzz around Academy Award winner Stacie Conrad's return to the stage we finally got a chance to catch her in Ibsen's Hedda Gabler newest revival and, frankly, we were underwhelmed. Even though she started out on stage during her Juilliard years,her film career did not prepare her for such a big undertaking as the title character of the play. Her delivery was overdramatic and exaggerated as she tried to compensate for the lack of close ups. Hopefully she'll stick to movies after this._

* * *

Stacie hung up the phone and looked down at the sleeping mess of blonde hair beside her. With how drunk Aubrey had been when they got home they didn't get a chance to do anything, let alone talk. Getting her ready for bed had been a trial, taking off her dress had been easy but trying to talk her into getting into a tank top and some shorts hadn't.

After that she was exhausted and she hadn't had time to assimilate what had happened or analyze how she felt. She was happy about it, of course, but things had changed so fast she felt like someone had suddenly and unexpectedly thrown her off a cliff. The feeling wasn't exactly unpleasant but she kept wondering how long it would be before the impending crash.

She knew she was setting herself up for failure by viewing relationships as a disaster waiting to happen, but she couldn't help it. The difference was that this time she was willing to go through it despite the feeling of foreboding and the nagging thought that she would be the one to blame for the ultimate demise of their relationship.

She wasn't good at this. She was too selfish, too stubborn, and too proud to accept when she did something wrong. She was also a shameless flirt and she had never tried to be monogamous for an extended period. Her last relationship had been just her and Luke deciding to spend more time with each other than with other people but they both knew there were others.

The past four months had been the longest time Stacie had spent without sleeping with other people, or with anyone at all. At first it had only been so she wouldn't get caught by the press but then she did it because she didn't want to be with anyone other than Aubrey. She wanted to say it had been easy but it hadn't, especially since she hadn't been getting any from Aubrey.

That added to the fact that it had taken emotionally stunted Beca Mitchell to get them to confess their feelings was a clear warning sign that she was deciding to ignore for the moment. She wanted to do this right. She wanted to be good enough for Aubrey. And while she knew the blonde wasn't perfect, at least she had a lot more experience on the relationship department.

Stacie's phone vibrated still in her hand making her look away from Aubrey. She opened the text she received from Gail which contained only the words "New York Times!"

She grabbed her tablet from her nightstand and searched for the review in the Times. She exhaled nervously before clicking on it, momentarily debating if she should wake up Aubrey for this but deciding not to.

She gave the blonde a sidelong glance before beginning to read, her smile growing larger as she scrolled down the page. She let out a small squeak quickly covering her mouth and checking that Aubrey was still sleeping. She turned back to the article when she saw Aubrey breathing evenly, deciding to check on other reviews while she waited for her to wake up.

She didn't know how long she'd been reading when Aubrey groaned and rolled over to turn away from the light coming in through a crack in the curtains. She smiled and shifted next to her using her fingers to comb through her hair. "Morning."

Aubrey scooted closer to the warm body next to her and whimpered softly. "Morning."

Stacie chuckled putting down her tablet to grab a glass of water and some aspirin she had put there for Aubrey when she woke up.

Aubrey held herself up on her elbow to take the aspirin, flopping back down once she'd given the glass back to Stacie and resting her head on Stacie's lap facing away from her. Stacie's hand went back to combing through her hair picking up the tablet again.

"What time is it? I need to go to work."

Stacie's hand moved down to her back raking her nails lightly over her shirt. "It's 9, Ashley called my phone cause yours is dead apparently. She said she'd reschedule your meetings for this morning and I told her you'd call her later. I didn't want to wake you up."

Aubrey turned to face her and offered her a smile. "Thanks." She grabbed Stacie's hand kissing her palm before threading their fingers and dropping their hands on her stomach. "What are you doing up so early?"

"Reading reviews."

Aubrey noticed the slight frown on Stacie's face. "What's wrong? Did they not say you were great? You were better than great! Everyone loved you."

Stacie shrugged. "They were mostly good."

"But you're focusing on the bad one." Stacie shrugged again and turned off the tablet putting it down on the nightstand. "Who was it?"

"Broadway dot com. They said I was overdramatic."

Aubrey frowned. "But that's how the character is, she shoots herself!"

"And that I should stick to movies."

"Well Broadway dot com can open its online mouth and suck-" Stacie started laughing. "What?"

"Nothing. I love you." Stacie leaned down to kiss her briefly and Aubrey looked thoughtfully up at her when she pulled back.

She sat up, leaning against the headboard and taking her hand. She rested her head on her shoulder and started fidgeting with Stacie's fingers. "So we're really doing this?"

Stacie's hand tensed in Aubrey's. "If you still want to."

"You didn't want a relationship."

"I want it with you."

"You kissed someone else." Stacie tried to move her hand to her lap but Aubrey's hand tightened around it. "I'm not looking for an apology, I just want to understand."

Stacie sighed. "I kissed you and things got weird and you left. I thought you didn't have feelings for me, I figured kissing someone else would help me get over you." She squeezed Aubrey's hand. "I know it's a stupid excuse."

Aubrey shook her head. "We both handled it wrong. I shouldn't have left." She turned to Stacie and tilted her head towards her to kiss her. "We just have to communicate better going forward."

Stacie exhaled against her lips, her mouth quirking into a small smile and her chest feeling lighter. As much as she was scared about doing this, she was more scared about losing Aubrey before they could even try. "So we are doing this?"

Aubrey nodded and Stacie pecked her lips before letting go of her hand and getting out of bed. "Okay."

Aubrey knit her eyebrows. "Where are you going?"

"I'm gonna make you breakfast and then you're going to work."

Aubrey pouted. "Why? You already told Ashley to reschedule my meetings."

Stacie gasped dramatically. "Aubrey Posen wants to play hookey?"

Aubrey rolled her eyes. "Aubrey Posen wants to spend the day with her girlfriend."

Stacie smiled. Even though they'd referred to each other as girlfriend many times before, the word sounded different now. "Call Ashley while I make your breakfast and check in or you'll just be worrying about it all day."

She walked back to the bed and leaned down to kiss Aubrey. She meant it to be a quick kiss but Aubrey pulled her by the front of her shirt and deepened the kiss. She smiled smugly when she let go and noticed Stacie's dazed expression. "Or you can come back to bed and we can do more of that."

Stacie bit her lip. She straightened up and took a step back because being so close to Aubrey was clouding her judgement. "I want to take you out on a date."

"A date?" Aubrey quirked an eyebrow at her.

She ran her right hand up the opposite arm and shrugged. "Yes, before we have sex."

"We've been on plenty of dates, Stace."

"Yeah but they weren't actual dates, we were just hanging out as friends." She sat back down on the bed and took Aubrey's hand, running her thumb over her knuckles. "I want to do this right. Woo you for real."

Aubrey smiled at Stacie's sweetness and cupped her cheek. "Well if you got me to fall in love with you without trying I can't wait to see what happens when you do."

Stacie returned her smile and placed a lingering kiss on her lips, pulling back before either of them felt tempted to take it further. "So, breakfast?"

Aubrey nodded. "I'll be there after I call Ashley."

Stacie walked to the kitchen looking thoughtfully at her half empty fridge wondering if she should order something instead but deciding she could make scrambled eggs with ham and mushrooms. She took out everything she needed and the half empty carton of orange juice and put everything on the counter.

She was finishing chopping everything when Aubrey walked into the kitchen. "I have to go to work."

Stacie smiled knowingly but squared her features before turning around. "I thought you were ditching work today."

Aubrey glared at her. "You're the one who made me call Ashley." She sat down behind Stacie and watched her pour everything in a pan. "I have to go over the budget of the movie I'm doing with Beca so we can start working on that."

"How's that going? Working with Beca."

Aubrey shrugged. "She's alright. I haven't had to see her that much yet."

"Only when she went there to tattle on me?" Stacie turned holding both their plates and smirked at Aubrey.

"She wasn't tattling, she was trying to help." Stacie rolled her eyes but kissed Aubrey's cheek before placing the plate in front of her and sitting. Aubrey quirked an eyebrow at her. "Are you mad at Beca?"

"I'm…" Stacie sighed. "I'm not sure. I understand why she told you and I'm glad she did it but that doesn't change the fact that she told you something I had told her in confidence."

"So you're mad on principle."

"No." Aubrey's eyebrows moved up and Stacie bobbed her head. "Maybe."

"You know she wouldn't have done it if she hadn't been sure I felt the same way."

"I know and I know I can trust her. I'm just..." She shrugged.

"Mad on principle." Aubrey finished and Stacie frowned.

"Since when do you defend Beca?"

Aubrey rolled her eyes and walked around the table. She wrapped her arms around Stacie's shoulders and kissed her. "Since she got me a real date with you. When is that happening by the way?"

"Tonight after my show?" Stacie smiled hopefully.

"Are you gonna have time to plan it?"

Stacie scoffed. "Please, I've been thinking about this date for months."

Aubrey grinned and twirled a strand of Stacie's hair. "You know I'll be happy with anything as long as you're there, right? You don't have to go all out."

Stacie lifted her chin. "I said I was going to woo you."

Aubrey chuckled and pecked Stacie's lips. "You're adorable."

Stacie nodded pulling Aubrey closer and deepening the kiss. Aubrey used her index finger to trace her jaw and down her neck, stopping to draw little circles on her collarbone. When they broke for air, Aubrey rested her forehead against Stacie's and took a deep breath to try to calm her racing heart. "I have to go. See you tonight?"

Stacie nodded and gave her a series of quick kisses before releasing her from her embrace. "See you tonight."

* * *

Aubrey walked into her office and sighed at the mountain of paperwork that had accumulated in her absence. She had only been a few hours late but there was a stack of pre-read scripts, contracts she had to sign, and budgets to look over.

She took out her phone and smiled when she saw she had a text from Stacie.

 _ **Stacie [11:23]:**_ _I miss you already._

 _ **Aubrey [11:46]:**_ _I miss you too. Can't wait for tonight._

"Look who finally decided to show up." Chloe walked into the room with a big smile on her face. "I don't think I've ever seen you arrive late."

Aubrey smiled. "I didn't really have a reason to stay in bed before."

Chloe sighed and rested her chin on her clasped hands. "I don't know if that's adorable, sad, or just gross."

Aubrey rolled her eyes and started sorting through the papers on her desk and rearranging them by priority while telling Chloe about everything that happened the previous night and this morning. When she finished she sat down and looked up at her friend worrying her bottom lip with her teeth. "Should I be worried?"

Chloe frowned and walked around to wit on the edge of Aubrey's desk. "About what?"

"About her not wanting to have sex yet. I mean, we've known each other for ages, it's not like a date is going to change anything. We're already in love." Chloe opened her mouth but Aubrey kept talking. "But she's being really cute about it so I know I'm probably worrying more than I should, and it's not like I can't wait to have sex with her because I can. I just thought that once we were honest we would just get rid of all the sexual tension that has been building up."

Chloe waited a few seconds before trying to speak again. "Maybe she wanted to be with you as your girlfriend first before you went down the sex rabbit hole. Because you know that once you start you're not going to be able to keep your hands off each other. I mean, you're bad enough as it is."

"Maybe."

"Don't worry about it so much. You're in love, enjoy it and let her take you out and be romantic." Chloe smiled dreamily. "Do you know where she's taking you yet?"

"She didn't give me any details, she just said she'll pick me up after her show."

Chloe sighed and jumped off the desk engulfing Aubrey in a hug. "Look at you all in love and with the cutest, hottest girlfriend ever. Who'd've thought you'd be in a serious relationship before me?"

Aubrey chuckled. "I'm gonna be the one setting you up now."

"Oh god, please don't. I'm fine."

Aubrey narrowed her eyes at her. "I was fine and you kept setting me up! That's one of the reasons I agreed to pretend I was with Stacie."

Chloe laughed. "See! Everything's thanks to me." She started walking towards the door stopping before closing it behind her. "You know what I like, I expect a thank you gift on my desk soon."

* * *

There was still over an hour left before the show when there was a knock on Stacie's dressing room door. Stacie arched an eyebrow wondering who it was. She had already finished getting everything ready for her date with Aubrey and she started getting antsy just sitting in her apartment so she decided to go to the theater which hadn't really been a lot better since no one was there yet.

She got up and opened the door surprised to find Beca on the other side. "Hey."

"Hey." Beca ran a hand through her hair nervously. "Can I come in?"

Stacie stepped back and opened the door. "Sure, what's up?"

Beca walked in and sat down on Stacie's couch and looked down at her feet, pulling at her sleeves. Stacie sat backwards on the chair in front of the vanity and waited. "Look, Stace, I'm sorry about telling Aubrey. I know it was a complete breach of trust but you were so sad and I knew she loved you too and you needed to talk."

"Beca, chill, I'm not mad."

"You're not?" Beca looked up at her confused.

"I was a little mad, but then Aubrey made some very good points and made me realize that you were right and I shouldn't be mad."

Beca's frown deepened. "Aubrey defended me?"

Stacie nodded. "Crazy, right?" Stacie pushed Beca's shoulder with her fist. "Thanks for talking to her."

"So you guys talked? You're good now?"

"Yeah, we're going on our first real date tonight." Stacie grinned.

Beca smiled back. "Where are you going."

Stacie scoffed. "I'm not telling you, you'll tell her and ruin the surprise."

Beca rolled her eyes. "I said I was sorry! Besides, it's not like Aubrey and I are friends now and talk or whatever."

"Aw, Becs, you want to be friends with Aubrey?"

"That's not what I said!"

Stacie moved to the couch and took out her phone. "I can call her now and tell her you want to talk."

"I don't want to talk to your stupid girlfriend!"

"Hey!" Stacie poked Beca. "My girlfriend is not stupid. She's smart and gorgeous and could crush you with her pinky."

"Believe me, I know."

Stacie looked at Beca for a moment and then launched herself at her wrapping her in a hug. "I love you, Becs."

Stacie laughed at Beca's muffled response. "Please let me go."

"Not until you say it."

"I can't breathe, your boobs are suffocating me."

Stacie squeezed her harder. "Say it."

"Fine, I love you too." Beca gasped dramatically when Stacie let her go. "Jerk."

"Jerk that you love." Stacie batted her eyelashes.

Beca rolled her eyes and stood up. "Have fun in your date."

"Don't leave!" Stacie pulled her back down. "I haven't told you where I'm taking her."

Beca quirked an eyebrow. "Fine but no more hugs."

"No more hugs."


	12. Chapter 12

Aubrey should have known that whatever Stacie was planning required her to dress up more than she would for a regular first date, but she wasn't expecting it to be a black tie event. She was lucky she knew the right people to get a dress, and her hair and makeup done in time, considering the short notice she got from Stacie. She was in black Versace dress with straps that crossed over her chest, one thick and one thin, and tied behind her neck, with a slit on the side that went up to the top of her thigh. Her hair was down, curled to perfection, and she had opted for a smokey look for her eyes.

One thing she didn't understand was that, while it took her almost three hours to achieve her current look, Stacie arrived at her apartment less than an hour after her final curtain looking absolutely breathtaking. She was wearing a high-low red dress with a lacy bodice and a deep V neckline, her hair was straight and she was barely wearing makeup. Aubrey wasn't sure if she was happy or jealous, but when Stacie moved closer to kiss her softly and she got a better view down her cleavage she decided she was very happy her girlfriend could look like this without much effort.

She kept her eyes closed and rested her forehead against Stacie's running a finger down her chest. "Are you sure you want to go out?"

Stacie hummed and nodded as she lifted her hands to Aubrey's hips. "It would be a shame for me to be the only one to see you looking this amazing."

"I did spend a lot of time getting ready."

Stacie brushed her nose against Aubrey's and pecked her lips. "Well you look really, really good."

Aubrey blushed and looked down. "You look really good too. You always look really good."

Stacie smiled and tilted her chin up to kiss her again, this time taking more time but without deepening the kiss. "Are you ready to go?"

Aubrey nodded and reluctantly left Stacie's arms to grab her purse. Stacie took her hand as soon as she had locked her apartment door and Aubrey let her lead her outside to where a car was waiting for them.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see." Aubrey pouted but Stacie only chuckled and kissed her quickly. "You'll like it."

"How do you know?"

Stacie smirked. "Because I know you."

Aubrey's stomach flipped and she realized that this already was her perfect first date. There was no awkwardness, no small talk, no pressure. She knew Stacie and Stacie knew her. They were already in love. She didn't have to pretend to be less of a control freak so she wouldn't scare her off, or act like she was interested about something she really didn't care about. She wouldn't spend the next few days wondering if Stacie was going to call her or trying to seem less interested than she really was.

Stacie had turned to look out the window so Aubrey squeezed her hand making her turn back. "I love you."

Stacie still wasn't used to hearing those words and smiled widely, angling her body towards Aubrey and capturing her lips. Their kiss was cut short because of Stacie's inability to stop smiling and Aubrey pulled back chuckling.

Stacie shook her head and kissed her again. "I love you too."

The car stopped and Stacie bounced excitedly. "We're here!"

She got out first and helped Aubrey out. Aubrey frowned confused when she realized they were outside the Met and that there was an event happening. It didn't look like a high profile event, there was no red carpet and there weren't a lot of reporters outside. However, the few that were there turned and started calling Stacie's name as soon as they noticed them.

"Stace, what is this?"

Stacie shrugged. "Some event. I wasn't really invited but I got Gail to put us on the list."

Aubrey's frown deepened. "Why?"

Stacie smiled and raised her eyebrows. "Come on."

She took Aubrey's hand and they walked together up the stairs to the main door where a man in a tux was standing with a clipboard. "Hi, Stacie Conrad and Aubrey Posen."

He checked his list and smiled at her. "Of course, Miss Conrad. Welcome."

The entered The Great Hall and checked their coats. They were informed that the event was taking place in the American Wing and were given directions on how to get there. Stacie smiled politely and thanked the guy, taking Aubrey's hand and walking in the direction they were instructed.

Aubrey was a little disappointed that their date was just some event Stacie wanted to go to, she had hoped it would be something more intimate. But if Stacie really had been planning this date for months then there must be a reason why they were here.

Aubrey read the sign outside the room where the event was taking place and her confusion grew. It was a charity event for an environmental group she had never heard of and she doubted Stacie had either. They walked straight to a table by the back of the room and grabbed a couple of champagne flutes from a passing waiter.

Stacie grabbed a few canapes from another waiter and stacked them carefully on the napkin in front of her. Aubrey gave her a pointed look when she lifted one to take a bite and Stacie rolled her eyes before taking a smaller bite than she had intended initially. She looked at Aubrey as she chewed demurely and smiled widely when she swallowed. "Better?"

Aubrey laughed and kissed her cheek. "Better."

Stacie lifted one of the canapes and moved it towards Aubrey's mouth. "Want one?" Aubrey shook her head. "Are you sure? Cause we're only staying for like five more minutes so if you want to eat, it has to be now."

"What? We just got here!"

"Do you want to stay? I don't even know what this event is."

Aubrey shook her head confused. "Then what are we doing here?"

Stacie only smiled in response, putting a whole hors d'oeuvre in her mouth and nodding at Aubrey's champagne glass. "Are you done?"

Aubrey drank what was left of her champagne and waved her empty glass. "I'm done."

Stacie took her hand and pulled her to the exit. Aubrey pulled her back when they got to the arch leading out. "Are you going to tell me what we're doing?"

Stacie smiled and pecked her lips. "You'll see in a minute. Can you trust me for a second?"

Aubrey narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Fine."

Stacie kept walking back the way they came in, turning in a different direction when she got to the Medieval art section. Aubrey turned her head towards the exit. "Babe, I'm pretty sure the exit is that way." Stacie shushed her and continued to pull her forward. Aubrey bit her lip and looked around anxiously. "Stace, where are we going?"

Stacie gave her a pointed look and squeezed her hand. "Come on."

They turned a corner and Aubrey's hand tightened when she spotted a security guard. Stacie quickened her pace. "Hey, Tommy."

"Hey, Stace." He turned and walked with them to an elevator. "You have an hour before the other guy's shift starts, stay in the European wing, and if someone finds you-"

"We got lost looking for the bathroom and we've never met."

Tom touched his index finger to his nose and pointed at Stacie. "Have fun, and don't touch anything."

The elevator doors opened and Aubrey and Stacie stepped in. Aubrey slapped Stacie's shoulder. "What is this?"

"I told you to trust me." Stacie chuckled and wrapped her arms around Aubrey. "I thought you'd enjoy a little private tour of your favorite part of the Met. I even took the real tour a few times so I know things."

"You took the tour?"

Stacie nodded and kissed her softly. "I came a few times when you went to LA." She shrugged.

Aubrey kissed her cheek. "I'm sorry I left."

They stepped off the elevator and Stacie pulled her against her front. "It's okay. You're here now." Stacie let her go and walked ahead turning around to face her. "Now if you will follow me so we can begin our tour. Please hold your questions until the end and refrain from taking any pictures."

"Make sure to keep your hands on me at all times." She took Aubrey's hands and placed them on her hips with a teasing smirk. "And please remember to thank your guide at the end of the tour."

Aubrey chuckled and tugged Stacie forward. "You're ridiculous."

Stacie brushed a strand of hair behind Aubrey's ear. "But you love me."

Aubrey nodded and pecked her lips. "I love you."

Stacie pulled Aubrey closer and kissed her deeply. She parted smiling and took her hand. "Come on, we don't have much time."

* * *

Stacie hugged Aubrey from behind and rested her chin on her shoulder. "Portraits are super creepy."

Aubrey chuckled and ran her hands along Stacie's forearms. "I like this one, it looks so real it's like she's really there."

"Yeah, that's what makes it creepy." Stacie looked back at the painting in front of them and scrunched up her face. "And do they always have to be facing the front? I feel judged."

"She does look a bit judgy."

Aubrey untangled herself from Stacie's arms and pulled her to the next room. Stacie looked at the nearest painting and smiled. "Now landscapes are way better. No judgy eyes."

Aubrey rolled her eyes but pulled Stacie against her back again. "Paintings can't judge you."

Stacie turned Aubrey around. "These ones can't."

Stacie smirked and raised her eyebrows before kissing Aubrey. Aubrey parted her lips, allowing Stacie to deepen the kiss. She felt Stacie start to move her towards the center of the gallery and she felt the back of her legs hit the bench that stood there.

She flipped them around, letting Stacie sit on the bench and taking a step back. "We're not having sex here."

"But-"

"No, there's a camera there, and even though you seemed pretty chummy with the guard, I'm not sure he wouldn't sell your sex tape to the highest bidder." Stacie pouted. "I don't think we have a lot of time left anyway."

As if on cue they heard steps coming from a few rooms away. Aubrey's eyes widened and she looked at Stacie. "Shit."

Stacie got up quickly and pulled Aubrey away from the sound, pausing every time they moved to a new room. They were almost at the elevator they had used to come up when they heard someone on their right. Stacie stopped Aubrey just as she was going to step across the threshold and pressed her back to the wall, pulling Aubrey tight against her front.

Aubrey closed her eyes as they waited for the sound of steps to fade away. Stacie waited until she couldn't hear anything anymore and gave Aubrey a nudge. "Let's go."

The crossed the last room to the elevator and Aubrey pressed the down button repeatedly. The ding announcing the arrival of the elevator made her wince, too loud in the quiet of the gallery, and they hurried inside.

Aubrey exhaled loudly when the elevator doors closed and Stacie started laughing. Aubrey turned around and slapped her shoulder. "It's not funny, Stace. We could've been caught."

Stacie closed her mouth to stop herself from laughing but her shoulders were still shaking slightly. Aubrey glared at her and turned around crossing her arms.

Stacie ran her hand down her upper arm softly. "Hey, nothing was going to happen. I had a plan in case we got caught." She moved closer and nuzzled Aubrey's cheek. "And you have to admit it was fun."

Aubrey leaned back against Stacie. "I guess."

Stacie smiled and kissed her temple, taking her hand when the elevator doors opened and walking towards the exit. They stopped to pick up their coats and walked out to wait for their car.

Stacie pulled Aubrey close and gave her a brief kiss before letting her settle her head against her shoulder. "You haven't thanked your tour guide."

Aubrey chuckled and squeezed Stacie's hip. "My tour guide almost got me arrested."

"Everything was under control, I've played a spy in more than one movie."

Aubrey turned her head to look at her with a frown. "I don't think that qualifies you to sneak out of the Met without being caught."

Stacie scoffed. "Well the fact that we're out here right now kinda proves it does."

Aubrey rolled her eyes and let her head fall on Stacie's shoulder again. "You're ridiculous."

"We've established that. Also that you love me but you can say that again too if you want."

Aubrey smiled but didn't say anything. She wasn't really mad at Stacie, their date had been perfect. She loved that Stacie knew her so well that she would think to take her there on their first date, that they hadn't had to waste time on small talk, that she was comfortable enough to just stand there in her arms.

She turned her head and leaned up to kiss the side of Stacie's jaw. "Thank you. Tonight was perfect." Stacie turned her head and met her lips. "I love you."

"So, my place or yours?" Stacie splayed her hands on Aubrey's ribs and sucked her lip into her mouth, biting softly.

Aubrey smiled into the kiss and waited until Stacie released her lip to break the kiss and take a step back. "Mine's closer, but you have a matinee tomorrow."

"Your place is closer to the theater too, and you can lend me something to wear."

Aubrey nodded and turned to the street. Seeing their car pulling up, she stepped away from Stacie and walked down the steps towards the car.

Stacie got in the car after her and sat close to her, nuzzling her neck. Her hand moved up Aubrey's leg making her squirm away.

"Stacie." Aubrey warned.

"Aubrey." Stacie whispered huskily in her ear and continued leaving a trail of kisses down her jaw.

Aubrey covered Stacie's hand with hers and pushed it to her knee. "Wait until we get home."

"Why?" Stacie pouted.

Aubrey held Stacie's jaw firmly and planted a noisy kiss on her lips. "Because."

Stacie frowned. "That's not a reason."

"We're almost there."

Stacie grumbled but her hand stayed on Aubrey's knee, her fingers drumming impatiently and occasionally pressing kisses to Aubrey's neck and jaw. Aubrey kept her hand on top of Stacie's, brushing her fingers over the back.

As soon as the car stopped in front of Aubrey's apartment, Stacie jumped out and stood by the open door fidgeting until Aubrey stepped out. She walked ahead of Aubrey until they got to her door and looked back. She leaned on it and crossed her arms until Aubrey stopped in front of her.

Aubrey arched an eyebrow at her and opened her purse to look for her key. "It's a clutch, there aren't a lot of places to look, babe."

Aubrey took out the key and dangled in front of Stacie's face. "You're the one who insisted we wait, I don't understand why you're so impatient now."

"I said we should go on a date first. Date's over, let's bang."

Aubrey slipped the key in the lock. "No one's banging."

"Call it whatever you want." Stacie covered Aubrey's hand and turned the key, throwing the door open and pushing Aubrey inside. "Just do it."

Stacie kicked the door closed and pushed Aubrey against it kissing her forcefully. Aubrey moaned against Stacie's mouth and rolled her hips, her hands moved down Stacie's back pressing her close. Stacie's hand slipped inside the slit on the skirt of Aubrey's dress and pushed her leg to the side, pressing her body in between Aubrey's legs, her thumb rubbing small circles on the inside of her thigh.

"Stace, I have a bed."

"Bed, yes." Stacie's lips moved to Aubrey's neck and her hand moved up on Aubrey's leg grazing her underwear.

Aubrey gasped and threw her head back hitting the door. Stacie stopped and pulled back to look at her. "Are you okay?"

Aubrey nodded and pulled Stacie in for a kiss, pushing off the door and moving in the general direction of her bedroom. Stacie reached behind her blindly with one of her hands to keep herself from crashing into things.

She felt her leg bump into a table making something roll off it and fall on the carpet with a thud. She turned her head to check what it was but Aubrey cupped her cheeks and turned her back. "Leave it."

Stacie kept walking back using her hand to steady herself on the back of the couch. Getting to Aubrey's bedroom was taking too long. "Couch?"

Aubrey nodded against her lips and they made their way around it. Aubrey's hands moved to the back of Stacie's dress finding the zipper and pulling it down. Stacie let the dress pool on her waist reluctant to break the kiss to step out of it but the prospect of getting Aubrey out of her dress made her step back.

Aubrey turned around and Stacie moved her hair to the side placing small kisses on Aubrey's shoulder while unzipping her dress. Aubrey wiggled out of her dress and picked up Stacie's placing them both on a chair.

Stacie rolled her eyes with a smirk and Aubrey pushed her down to sit on the couch. "I borrowed it, I'm not going to just leave it on the floor."

She straddled Stacie linking her hands behind her neck looking down at her, putting their previous urgency on hold for a second. Stacie's hands moved up her thighs and around her hips ending up on the small of her back.

Aubrey leaned down to kiss her softly, trying to keep her passion at a low simmer but failing when Stacie's hands moved up to unlatch her bra and palm her breasts. She moaned and ground her hips down against Stacie's lap when Stacie's fingers found her nipple, rolling it between her thumb and forefinger.

Stacie's hand moved down her stomach and inside her underwear, keeping the other one on Aubrey's hip to steady her. Aubrey gasped when she felt Stacie's fingers gliding over her center, breaking the kiss for less than a second and pushing her hips down for more contact.

Stacie's fingers started moving slowly inside Aubrey and Aubrey moved her hands to the back of the couch to hold herself up, her hips moving to meet Stacie's strokes. Aubrey broke the kiss, moaning out Stacie's name and throwing her head back. Stacie used her free hand to move Aubrey's hair away from her face.

Aubrey bit her lip eliciting a whimper out of the back of Stacie's throat, distracting her momentarily and making her still her fingers. Aubrey grunted and rolled her hips. Stacie's fingers started moving again at a faster pace, the heel of her hand pushing against Aubrey's bundle of nerves.

Aubrey tensed on top of Stacie, her hips hovering over her lap, and Stacie pulled her fingers out and rubbed slow circles in between Aubrey's legs until she collapsed against her chest, her body still shuddering with every brush of Stacie's fingers.

Stacie removed her hand and draped her arms around Aubrey's waist tracing random patterns on her back. Once she had recovered, Aubrey turned her head kissing Stacie's collarbone lazily.

"Do you always have sex on the first date?"

"Shut up." Aubrey mumbled against Stacie's skin.

Stacie chuckled and tightened her arms around Aubrey. "Wanna try getting to your bed again?"

"In a minute." Aubrey continued kissing her way across Stacie's shoulders and up her neck.

Stacie shifted uncomfortably underneath Aubrey. Aubrey chuckled and pulled back looking at Stacie's face with an amused smile. "Is something wrong?"

Stacie pressed her thighs together and shook her head biting her lip. Aubrey shifted her weight back and ran a finger in between Stacie's breasts and down her stomach, raking her nail down the center of her underwear and making Stacie close her eyes and moan loudly.

Aubrey removed her hand and stood up. Stacie blinked her eyes open, looking at Aubrey's outstretched hand in front of her and taking it. Aubrey pulled her to her feet and kissed her, nibbling on her lip before pushing her away. "Go to my room, I need some water."

Stacie grabbed her wrist before she could turn away. Aubrey quirked an eyebrow when Stacie pulled her closer and moved her hand from her wrist to lace their fingers. She used her free hand to tilt Aubrey's head up and kiss her softly. She rested her forehead against Aubrey's when they parted. "I just wanted to make sure this was real."

"If it's not I don't want to wake up."

Stacie smiled and kissed Aubrey again. "Me neither."


	13. Chapter 13

Stacie felt a hand stroking her hair softly. She kept her eyes closed and tried to keep her breathing even for a bit longer but she leaned into Aubrey's hand involuntarily, giving herself away. She smiled with her eyes still closed. "Are you staring at me?"

The hand stopped for a second but then continued it's path down to Stacie's neck before Aubrey answered. "Maybe. You're really nice to look at."

Stacie opened one eye and looked at Aubrey in front of her on the bed. She had her head propped up on her elbow, her other hand still combing through her hair. Stacie smiled and scooted closer to her, wrapping her arm around her waist and bringing their bodies together before kissing her.

After a few seconds she frowned and pulled back. "You brushed your teeth." Her eyes danced over Aubrey's face and her frown deepened. "And you're wearing makeup."

Aubrey blushed. "It's our first morning together, not all of us wake up looking flawless like you."

Stacie laughed. "We've woken up together before."

"Not after sex!"

Stacie shrugged. "But you always look beautiful. Even when you're drunk out of your mind and puking on my shoes."

"I puked on your shoes like eight years ago," Aubrey said with a frown. Stacie nodded. "You thought I looked beautiful back then?"

"I've always thought you're beautiful, I'm not blind." Stacie quirked an eyebrow. "Did you recently realize I'm smoking hot?"

"No, of course not." Aubrey chuckled and placed her palm on Stacie's chest, her thumb brushing softly over her collarbone. "I've just known you for so long that I don't really know when I started liking you."

Stacie turned to her back and pulled Aubrey with her. "I remember the first time I thought about kissing you." Aubrey smirked and raised her eyebrows. "It was the week before I moved to LA. I went to your apartment, we had dinner and then we sat on your living room floor talking for hours. Do you remember?" Aubrey nodded and Stacie continued. "We were drinking something, probably wine or vodka, and you laughed at something I said, I don't really remember what, but I've always loved your laugh. And then-" She smiled. "-you looked at me and I forgot how to breathe. I kept thinking about it all night, how beautiful you were, how much I liked you. But I had one foot on the other side of the country so I just pushed it to the back of my mind."

Aubrey kissed her. "I'm glad you didn't kiss me that night. I don't think we would've worked out any other time. We were never in the same place for more than a few weeks after you moved, and I was about to start my production company." She ran her fingers down Stacie's jaw, smoothing her thumb over her chin. "And we wouldn't have been happy in a long distance relationship. You were just starting your movie career and meeting new people, having a girlfriend on the other side of the country would have only been an inconvenience."

"You could have never been an inconvenience."

Aubrey smiled. "Stace, I love you and I know you love me, but we're different now than we were back then and it's okay. You're not the girl I found making out with my boyfriend anymore. We weren't in the right place for this, for us, until now. We needed to live, do other things, other people."

Stacie twisted her lip thoughtfully. "And it doesn't bother you that we could've had this sooner?"

"It wouldn't have been this." Aubrey placed a featherlight kiss on her lips. "I'm happy with the way things are now, and we wouldn't be here if we hadn't gone through all of that." Aubrey moved to lie next to Stacie. "Besides, you weren't famous enough back then and that's the only reason I agreed to go out with you."

Stacie gasped dramatically and straddled Aubrey, pinning her hands on top of her head. "Lies. You also wanted to get up on all this."

Aubrey shrugged. "You're not really my type."

Stacie gasped for real this time and her eyes narrowed. "Take it back." Aubrey pressed her lips closed and shook her head. "Aubrey?"

Stacie shrugged and got off her. "Fine, you're not getting any from me then."

Aubrey rolled over and got on top of her. "No! You're exactly my type, you're the hottest person I've ever met."

Stacie smiled widely and kissed her slowly, taking her lower lip into her mouth and running her tongue over it. "Was that so hard?" Aubrey shook her head and Stacie wrapped her arms around her, running her hands up her back. "Just so you know, I'm only dating you for your money."

Aubrey laughed. "Babe, you have more money than me."

"Huh, then why am I dating you?" Stacie frowned.

"Beats me."

Stacie grinned and kissed her. Aubrey moved her hands up to frame her face. She parted a while later panting breathlessly and looked into Aubrey's eyes. "I love you."

Aubrey grinned and leaned down to kiss her again. "I love you too."

Stacie ran her hands down Aubrey's sides. "I need to shower."

"Want company?"

"Always." Stacie smiled.

Aubrey turned to look at the clock on the nightstand. "I probably shouldn't, it's late." Stacie pouted. "I'll make you something to eat while you shower."

Stacie kissed her. "Or you can shower with me and I can get something on my way to the theater."

"You need to start eating better."

Stacie rolled her eyes goodnaturedly. "Have you been talking to Gail? I'm fine. Besides, I'm going to do more cardio now that we're together."

"I can make you an awesome salad." Stacie frowned and Aubrey twirled a strand of her hair. "And I'll go visit you in between shows."

Stacie grinned. "I have a shower in my dressing room and three hours before I have to get ready again."

Aubrey chuckled and rolled off Stacie, getting out of bed to get dressed. "We're not having sex in your dressing room."

Stacie sat up and threw her arms up. "Why not? It's clean and the door locks."

"And there's tons of people around." Aubrey pulled on a shirt and turned to Stacie. "Get in the shower."

Stacie pouted. "I don't like hearing that when I know you're not coming with me."

Aubrey chuckled and walked back to the bed. "You can-" She kissed Stacie's pout. "-make me come with you later if you play your cards right."

Stacie grinned and rubbed her nose up Aubrey's. "In my dressing room?"

"Nice try. You're gonna be late." Aubrey shook her head, straightening up and walking away.

* * *

Stacie opened the door to her dressing room, smiling widely when she spotted Aubrey on her couch. "You're here!"

Aubrey put down the contract she was reading and looked up. "I told you I would come visit you."

"Let me get out of this costume and we can start christening this place."

Aubrey rolled her eyes and watched Stacie walk to the side of the room and start pulling the pins out of her hair. Denise pushed the door open a minute later and smiled at Aubrey. "Hey."

"Hey, Denise."

Aubrey watched as Denise stepped up to Stacie and started undoing all the buttons on the back of Stacie's dress. "How did the show go?"

Stacie looked at her reflection in front of her and smiled. "It was okay. The audience was a little apathetic."

"Idiots." Aubrey scoffed. "Are you going out to autograph things?"

"No, it's raining so I doubt there's a lot of people waiting anyway. I told them to let them know I wasn't coming out." She stepped out of her costume. "Thanks, D."

Denise took the dress and walked to the door. "I'll be back later."

"Knock!" Stacie called out before closing the door and locking it.

She jumped onto the couch and kneeled next to Aubrey. "Hey."

Aubrey grinned back at her and turned, throwing her arms around her shoulders, her fingers skirting up her neck. "Hey." Stacie moved forward to kiss her but Aubrey tilted her head back, making her lips land on her chin. "Don't you wanna get dressed?"

Stacie took advantage of Aubrey's tilted head and started kissing down her neck. "Not really, no. You're the one who's overdressed."

Stacie sucked on Aubrey's pulsepoint and made her gasp. "Babe?"

Stacie hummed against her neck. Aubrey pushed her shoulder and Stacie sat back on her heels and squeezed Aubrey's waist. "Yes, Bree?"

Aubrey bit her lip, trying to keep her eyes from moving down Stacie's half naked body and failing. She pushed Stacie onto her back and kissed her, laying her weight on top of her. "I've been thinking-" Stacie nodded. "-maybe we should try that shower later, you don't want to go back on stage all sweaty."

Stacie grinned and nodded eagerly. "Yeah, no. That's gross. I'll need a shower."

She tangled her hands in Aubrey's hair and pulled her down kissing her urgently. Her hands moved to the hem of Aubrey's shirt and she sat up, making Aubrey sit back on her lap and pull off her shirt. Aubrey ran her hands down Stacie's arms, panting against Stacie's mouth before capturing her lips again.

Stacie ran her fingers along Aubrey's collarbone until she reached the strap of her bra and pushed it to the side. Stacie's lips traveled down Aubrey's neck, her teeth biting down on her pulsepoint. Aubrey buried her fingers in Stacie's hair keeping her close, small silent gasps escaping her mouth as Stacie nibbled a path to her shoulder.

Stacie kissed down Aubrey's chest, pressing her face in between her breasts and reaching behind her back to unclasp her bra. She peeled the garment off and dropped it next to the couch.

Aubrey arched her back and Stacie went back to kissing every inch of exposed skin she could reach. She grabbed her waist firmly, pushing her down onto her lap, making Aubrey moan and rock her hips, grinding against Stacie's thighs. Stacie unbuttoned her jeans and smoothed her hand down Aubrey's lower abdomen and into her underwear.

Aubrey gasped against Stacie's lips. She removed one of her hands from Stacie's hair and snaked it in between their bodies, scooting back to gain better access. Her fingers slipped into Stacie's underwear making the brunette lift her face from Aubrey's chest.

Aubrey bit her lip and looked down at Stacie as her fingers started thrusting inside her. Stacie moaned loudly and tried to get her hand positioned better but Aubrey's jeans were restricting her movements. Stacie took her hand out, kissing Aubrey's furrowed brow and pushing her back.

Aubrey removed her hand and let Stacie push her onto her back while she pulled her jeans and underwear down her legs. She crawled back up Aubrey's body, stopping to kiss and nip different spots. Aubrey pulled her up desperately and wrapped her legs around her waist, lifting herself up with her hands around Stacie's neck.

Stacie chuckled at Aubrey's desperation and kissed her, pressing her head down onto the couch. She let her weight down, grinding against Aubrey and moaning into her mouth. Stacie kissed down her chin and neck, her hands resting on the back of Aubrey's thighs.

Stacie's mouth kept traveling down Aubrey's body slowly. She paused just above her bellybutton, breathing in Aubrey's scent. Aubrey nudged the top of her head. "Stacie."

Stacie smirked against her skin and continued her path. Once she was close enough to her target, she lifted her head and looked at Aubrey expectantly, smiling when she lifted her hips with a groan. She lowered herself again and kissed her inner thigh a couple of times before turning her head and breathing out against her center teasingly.

"Stacie," Aubrey groaned pleadingly.

Stacie obliged and sneaked her tongue out, pressing it flat against Aubrey and then dragging it up slowly. She ran the tip of her tongue back down and then repeated the motion until Aubrey was writhing underneath her.

Aubrey bit her lip in an effort to stay quiet, knowing there were other people close enough to hear, but just as she was getting a handle on it, Stacie's tongue changed its pattern. Stacie sped up her movements, focusing on Aubrey's bundle of nerves.

Aubrey pressed her hips up, her hands moving to the back of Stacie's head to keep her close. "Don't stop."

Stacie wasn't planning on stopping, but Aubrey's words spurred her on, her tongue moving in tight circles as she moved her hand underneath Aubrey's leg and entered her. Aubrey's hands tightened in her hair and Stacie felt her thighs pressing against her ears.

Aubrey lifted her hips with a sharp moan, trembling against Stacie's lips. Stacie kept her steady, her tongue easing Aubrey down slowly. She brought her hips down after a while and Stacie kissed her way back up.

She smiled down cockily at Aubrey whose eyes were still closed and her mouth still parted, puffing out uneven breaths. She rested her weight on top of her and cuddled against her chest, kissing her neck a few times.

Aubrey's hand started moving lazily up and down Stacie's back. "Do we still have enough time for that shower?"

Stacie looked at the clock on her vanity. "More than an hour."

Aubrey pulled Stacie up and kissed her lightly, purring against her lips. "Perfect."

* * *

Aubrey tried to stay awake on Stacie's couch. She had thought about going back home when Stacie started getting ready for the evening show but Stacie wanted to go to dinner after and it was faster if they left from the theater.

She must have dozed off because she was woken up by Stacie kissing her forehead already dressed to go. "Hey, sleepy head." Aubrey smiled sleepily up at her. "Do you want to go home? We can order in."

Aubrey sat up and shook her head. "No, I'm fine. Let's go have dinner."

Aubrey yawned and Stacie chuckled. "It's okay, we barely slept last night." Stacie sat down next to her and Aubrey threw her arms around her shoulder, nuzzling her neck while Stacie ran her hands up and down her back. "I'll order something from the car, let's go."

"Pizza?"

Stacie stood up pulling Aubrey with her. "Half cheese, half awesome?"

"Cheese is awesome."

"Cheese is boring, babe." She kissed her quickly and took her hand, lacing their fingers and walking out of her dressing room.

The moment the stage door opened they were met by a chorus of cheers from Stacie's fans. Aubrey squeezed Stacie's hand and let go. "I'll wait down there."

Stacie pouted. "Stay, it won't take long."

Aubrey rolled her eyes but stayed next to her as Stacie reached for the first playbill. She got closer, putting her hand on Stacie's back and shuffled behind her as she moved down the line, smiling at all the people gushing over Stacie.

Halfway down the line, Stacie turned to her in between autographs and gave her a quick kiss before turning to the next person waiting for her. When they made it to the end of the line she grabbed Aubrey's hand and laced their fingers, pulling her towards her car.

Aubrey leaned against Stacie's side and closed her eyes, not really sleeping. She listened to Stacie order their pizza, smiling as Stacie made sure to underline the drabness of the plain cheese half. Stacie shifted against her side once she'd hung up the phone. She wrapped her arms around her and kissed her temple before resting her cheek on top of her head.

Aubrey let herself be lulled by the rise and fall of Stacie's chest. She didn't remember ever feeling this comfortable with anyone. She'd had long term relationships before, not a lot of them, but she had never reached this level of intimacy with anyone. She knew they had been building up to this, that it hadn't started two days ago when they'd admitted their feelings for each other, or even when they had started to pretend to date. It had started the moment Aubrey agreed to have that milkshake with Stacie almost ten years before.

Stacie gave her a small nudge when they arrived at her apartment, taking her hand again as soon as they stepped onto the sidewalk. They went up the elevator in silence, Stacie's thumb tracing random patterns on the back of her hand. Stacie went into the kitchen to get plates while Aubrey uncorked a bottle of wine.

The pizza got there shortly after they'd arrived. Stacie took it to the living room and they ate on the couch side by side. Stacie's socked feet were crossed on the coffee table and Aubrey was balancing her plate on her crossed legs. The domesticity of it all gave Aubrey a warm, happy feeling.

She turned to look at Stacie who smiled at her, looking adorable with a small smear of sauce on the corner of her mouth. Aubrey grabbed her napkin and dabbed Stacie's face, kissing the spot after it was clean. She chuckled when Stacie moved forward to keep kissing her.

Stacie put her feet down, grabbing her plate and Aubrey's and put them on the coffee table. Aubrey arched an eyebrow at her. "I wasn't done with that."

"You can finish it in a minute." Stacie cupped Aubrey's cheeks and gave her a soft kiss. "I had a great time today. And last night."

Aubrey ran her hand up Stacie's thigh. "Me too."

"We can do it again tomorrow." Stacie tucked a strand of hair behind Aubrey's ear. "And the day after, and the day after, forever."

Aubrey chuckled. "You won't get bored?"

"Of spending time with you?" Stacie scoffed and shook her head. "You?"

Aubrey smiled. "Never."


	14. Chapter 14

Aubrey turned off her alarm, the slender around around her waist sliding down to her hips. She sat up against the headboard and smiled down at Stacie sleeping beside her. Her arm had ended up on Aubrey's lap. She had her head on the corner of the pillow with her mouth slightly parted.

Aubrey tucked a strand of hair behind Stacie's ear. Her fingers continued down the side of her face until she reached her neck. Stacie's nose twitched and she moved closer to Aubrey, her arm tightening around Aubrey's thighs. Aubrey chuckled and scooted away, kissing Stacie's forehead before getting out of bed and into the shower.

Stacie had moved to her pillow by the time she got out. Her legs still on her side and her arm hugging the corner of the comforter. Aubrey got dressed and sat on the bed next to Stacie. She ran her fingertips across the top of Stacie's back until she stirred.

Stacie groaned and turned her head towards Aubrey, blinking her eyes open drowsily. "You're dressed."

"Yeah, I have to wear clothes to work." She smiled and leaned forward to kiss Stacie. "Good morning."

"Morning. Come back to bed." Stacie tugged on Aubrey's skirt twice and closed her eyes again, snuggling into the pillow.

Aubrey shook her head with a smile. "I have to go to work."

"Work is boring, stay." Stacie looked at her frowning.

"I can't, I have meetings and I was late most of last week because of you."

"It's not my fault my bed is so irresistible. Your bed doesn't seem to be having that effect. We're not staying here anymore," Stacie said seriously.

"It was hard today too! You just slept through it." She grabbed Stacie's chin and pecked her lips.

"But it's my night off, we can stay in bed until tomorrow. Late tomorrow." Stacie turned to her back and pulled Aubrey down on top of herself, kissing her.

"You can stay in bed," Aubrey said in between kisses. "I have to go to work."

Stacie pouted. "Are you seriously going to leave me here naked and alone?"

"I seriously am," Aubrey deadpanned, kissing Stacie one last time before sitting back up. "There's food in the fridge if you want something, and a spare key in the first drawer next to the sink for you to lock up if you leave. You can keep the key if you want." Stacie's eyebrows shot up. "Or not."

"No, no." Stacie sat up. "It's cool, I'll keep the key."

"It's fine if you don't want it. You can just bring it back later."

"I didn't say I didn't want it, I can keep it. You already have a key to my place."

"Yes." Aubrey studied Stacie for a few seconds with her brow knit and her lips pursed. "Okay." She kissed her quickly. "I have to go."

She left before Stacie could say anything else. She kept thinking about the key all the way to work. She hadn't really thought about giving it to Stacie, it just seemed like the logical thing. She'd need a key to lock up and it made sense for her to keep it. She hadn't meant anything by it.

Chloe entered her office a few hours later, and, before she even opened her mouth to tell Aubrey what she wanted, Aubrey started talking. "I gave her a key."

Chloe stopped halfway to Aubrey's desk and frowned. "You gave who a key to what?"

"Stacie! A key to my apartment."

"Whoa." Chloe opened her eyes wide and sat down across from Aubrey's desk.

"What's the big deal?"

"The big deal? A key means you trust her enough to go to your place at any time, without telling you, no matter what you're doing. Even if you're not there or if you have people over or if you're in the bathroom."

"I do trust her," Aubrey said with a helpless shrug. "It's just a key. What was I supposed to do? I didn't want to kick her out and she needed a way to lock up. It made sense for her to take the key and it made sense for her to keep it. And I already have a key to her apartment."

"But you got that before you started dating for real, it's not the same." Chloe paused and tilted her head. "Wait, you left her alone in your apartment?"

"She was sleeping! I wasn't going to make her get dressed and leave just because I had to go to work." Aubrey rolled her eyes. "What is she going to do? Try on all my socks?"

"I don't know. I'd go through your stuff," Chloe said with a grin.

"I don't think she's gonna go through my stuff. And even if she does, she's not going to find anything she doesn't know about already. We've known each other for ages."

"But you just started dating for real."

"But we're not strangers! I know her and she knows me and we love each other. It's not like any other relationship, it's us."

Chloe's grin got wider as Aubrey spoke, sighing when she was done and resting her chin on her palms. "You're so in love, it's adorable." Aubrey threw her stress ball at her and Chloe caught it laughing. "So what did she say about the key?"

"First she made a face." Chloe twisted her lower lip. "And then she tried to be all cool about it like it wasn't a big deal, which it's not. And then I just left."

"So you didn't talk about it?"

"I had to get to work. She wasn't even fully awake yet, if she has something to say about it she will tell me later."

Chloe nodded thoughtfully. "I'm sure she's fine with having a key. Like you said, it's you. You're Staubrey, regular rules don't apply to you."

"Please don't use that ridiculous name," Aubrey pleaded.

Chloe stuck her tongue out and threw the ball back at her. "What I mean is that you'll be fine. She's not going to break up with you over a key, don't overthink it."

Aubrey nodded. "You're right. Thanks, Chlo." She stood up. "Did you need something?"

Chloe walked around handing her a folder. "Yes, I need you to sign these and I need to know your final offer on the licensing rights for-"

Someone knocked on the door and they both turned towards the sound. "Come in."

"Hey, I was going over the budget you sent and-" She looked up and stopped when she saw Chloe and smiled. "Oh, hey Chloe. I can come back if you're busy."

"Yes, we were in the middle of something," Chloe replied.

Aubrey quirked an eyebrow at Chloe and then looked at Beca with an apologetic smile. "Can you give us a minute? There's coffee and muffins in the break room if you want something."

"Yeah, sorry." She half waved. "Bye, Chloe."

Chloe rolled her eyes and huffed once Beca was gone, turning to Aubrey. "As I was saying before we were so rudely interrupted…"

Aubrey chuckled. "What's your deal with Beca? I mean, she's not my favorite person, but you barely even know her. Why do you dislike her so much?"

"She's so annoying. She barges in with her stupid face and her stupid plaid shirt. She probably thinks she's your friend just because she knew about you and Stacie and she told you Stacie loved you." She tapped the contract on Aubrey's desk. "Sign, please."

"Chloe." Aubrey closed the folder and set the contract aside. "Are you jealous that Beca knew before you?"

"What? No." She scoffed. "I'm not jealous of the hobbit."

"Or is it because she's the reason Stacie and I admitted our feelings?"

"Oh, please. You would've figured it out eventually." Chloe walked to the other side of the desk angrily.

"Maybe." Aubrey held her mouth closed tight to avoid smiling. "I don't know how long that would have taken. If it ever happened. We really do owe everything to Beca."

"Fine, throw her a party then." She started walking to the door and then turned back to face Aubrey. "You know, if you had told me the truth from the beginning this would've gotten resolved faster. Stacie would never have kissed anyone else!" Aubrey started laughing under her breath. "What?"

"Nothing." Aubrey laughed harder and shook her head.

"You don't think I would have helped? Is that why you didn't tell me?"

Aubrey stood up and walked to Chloe, throwing an arm around her shoulders and squeezing her. "I'm sure you would've fixed everything before it was even broken."

"Don't patronize me." Chloe pouted.

"I'm not! I was a fool for not telling you the truth from the beginning."

"The biggest fool."

Aubrey rubbed Chloe's back and let her go. "And that's not Beca's fault."

Chloe scoffed. "I'm still going to hate her."

"That's your prerogative." Chloe nodded. "But she's gonna be working with us and she is Stacie's friend so you're going to see her around."

Chloe rolled her eyes. "I can be civil."

"That's all I ask."

"But I'm not going to like her." Chloe went to the door. "Send me the contracts when you sign them. I'll tell Ashley to send Beca in."

"Thanks, Chlo."

Aubrey chuckled as she watched her walk out. Her cellphone rang as she was walking back to her desk. She took it out and smiled at the name on the screen. "Hey, baby."

"Hey, gorgeous. Do you regret going to work instead of staying in bed with me yet?"

"From the moment I left the apartment."

"Good."

Beca's head popped in and Aubrey motioned her in. "Babe, I'm working, did you need something?"

"Do you mind if I finish the Chinese we ordered last night?"

Aubrey smiled. "Sure, eat it."

"Great! What time will you be back?"

"Around seven?" She looked at Beca sitting in front of her and turned her chair away from her. "Do you miss me?"

"Terribly." Aubrey bit her lip to keep her smile from getting too big. "Are we having dinner tonight?"

"If you want to."

"I want to. I'm going to the gym and to my place to pick up some clothes and I'll meet you here later? I'll use my awesome new key if I get back and you're not home yet."

"Okay, I have to go." Aubrey turned back around to face Beca. "Bye."

"I love you."

Aubrey's eyes flitted up to Beca. She looked down half covering her mouth with her hand. "I love you too. Bye."

Beca was looking at the papers in her hand pretending she wasn't listening but Aubrey noticed her smirk. "I'm sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it. I didn't have lunch so I didn't have anything to throw up." Aubrey glared at her and Beca grinned. "So, the budget."

"Yes, the budget." Aubrey turned to her computer and opened the file. "Let's go over it."

* * *

Stacie looked at the key in her hand for a moment before sticking it into the lock and pushing the door open. "Aubrey?" She stepped inside slowly. "Baby?"

She waited for a response and shrugged when she didn't get one. She went into the bedroom and dropped her duffel bag on the bed, opening it and taking out her clothes for the next day and laying them out on the chair next to the bed. She took out the rest of her things and took them to the bathroom. She was finishing arranging her stuff on top of the dresser when she heard the door.

"Bree?"

"Hey!" Aubrey called out from outside the bedroom.

Stacie heard the door open and turned around. "You're home!"

"I am!" Stacie threw her arms around her and Aubrey stepped closer. "Have you been here long?"

Stacie shook her head. "Just got here."

Stacie leaned her head down to kiss her, tightening her arms around her waist. She pushed Aubrey down onto the bed, laying down on top of her and kissing her hard. Aubrey held Stacie's face and kissed her back, arching up as Stacie's hands traveled down her body.

"I missed you," Stacie said bringing their foreheads together and grinding down against Aubrey.

Aubrey went back to kissing her, lifting her leg and hooking it behind Stacie's. Stacie smirked against Aubrey's mouth and started kissing up her jaw, her hand moving to Aubrey's leg and sliding under her skirt, pulling her closer.

Aubrey moaned and turned her head to the side when Stacie took her earlobe into her mouth. Stacie moved her teeth to a spot on Aubrey's neck that always made her whimper, the hand that wasn't on her leg moving under her shirt and splaying on her ribs.

Aubrey closed her eyes and pulled Stacie's head closer, writhing under her. Stacie bit down onto Aubrey's neck and she opened her eyes with a gasp that turned into a purr when Stacie's tongue soothed the bite. She noticed the outline of something on the dresser and she pushed on Stacie's shoulder to try to sit up.

Stacie pulled back as soon as she felt Aubrey nudging her and hovered over her with a confused frown. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Aubrey shook her head and pecked her lips a few times. "What's that stuff on the dresser?"

"I thought I'd leave some stuff here for when I sleep over. Deodorant, perfume, my night cream." Stacie's lips moved back to Aubrey's neck as soon as she was done speaking.

"Oh."

Stacie stopped and hovered over Aubrey again. "Oh? Should I have asked first?"

"No, no, it's fine."

"You gave me a key," Stacie said arching an eyebrow.

"I did."

"And, I'm no expert, but I thought that meant something." Stacie rolled off Aubrey and kneeled on the bed next to her. "I thought about it a lot after you left, and maybe I freaked out a bit at first because, I mean, we've only been together for a little over a week. And now I have a key and we've spent every night together which might make it look like we're moving really fast but we're not."

"We're not?" Aubrey sat up and leaned back against the headboard.

Stacie shook her head. "We're just making up for lost time. So I brought some things over and you can bring stuff to my place. That way, no matter where we stay, we always have everything we need."

"How practical of you." Aubrey took Stacie's hand and pulled her forward.

"You know me." Stacie smiled and moved to Aubrey's lap, curling up in her arms. "What do you think?"

"I think-" She straightened Stacie's necklace. "-it's a great idea."

"Yeah?" Stacie grinned and Aubrey's heart skipped a beat.

Aubrey ran her fingers down Stacie's jaw and kissed her softly. "And your freak out? You're good now?"

"I'm perfect." She kissed down her jaw slowly, speaking in between kisses. "How was work?"

"It was good." She pulled Stacie closer, running her finger down the side of Stacie's leg along the seam of her jeans. "Beca came over today."

"She did?" Aubrey nodded as Stacie's lips traveled down to her collarbone. Stacie started undoing the top buttons of Aubrey's shirt. "We should have dinner with her or something. I haven't seen her since opening night."

"We should, and we should invite Chloe too."

Stacie nodded, shifting on top of Aubrey, straddling her lap and burying her face in Aubrey's chest. "Yeah, Chloe too."

"Apparently Chloe doesn't like her. Which is ridiculous because she doesn't know her." Stacie finished unbuttoning Aubrey's shirt and traced the edge of her bra with her lips. "So I thought that maybe if they met they'd get along."

"Sure, babe," Stacie replied absentmindedly.

"Do you think it's stupid?"

Stacie lifted her head from Aubrey's chest to look at her. "No, Chloe's your friend and Beca's my friend. If we ever throw a party and they're both invited it would be nice that everyone gets along."

Aubrey tilted her head and smiled at her. "Great, I'll check with them and let you know."

"Great." Stacie nodded at Aubrey's chest. "Can I get back to…?"

"Yes," Aubrey said with a chuckle. "Wait!" Stacie lifted her head again with a deep frown. "Maybe we should have dinner first."

Stacie threw her head up with a dramatic sigh. "Fine."

"We can make out while we wait for the delivery guy to get here." Aubrey twirled a strand of Stacie's hair. "And if you get the door I can keep the shirt unbuttoned."

"If you do that I can't guarantee it will stay PG."

"I'm willing to take that chance if we order first." Stacie smirked and kissed Aubrey. Aubrey pushed her back after a few seconds. "Off, now."

Stacie huffed and sat back. "Fine, but I'm picking dinner." She pecked Aubrey's lips quickly. "I'll go get the menus"

Stacie got up and walked out to the kitchen.

"Not Chinese again!" Aubrey shouted after her.

She got up and went to her dresser, picking up Stacie's perfume bottle and lifting it up to her nose. She put it back down with a smile and lined it up with the edge of the dresser.

"Okay, Italian or Thai?" Stacie came back and jumped on the bed, laying the menus in front of herself. "I kinda feel like noodles but I also feel like one of those awesome salads with olives and avocado, so I don't know, you pick."

"Italian. Get cheesecake."

Stacie took out her phone and typed the number. "Do you want your usual?"

"Yes, please." Aubrey got on the bed in front of Stacie and latched her lips onto her neck.

Stacie placed their order while Aubrey nibbled on her neck, her hands slipping under the back of Stacie's shirt. Stacie hung up and threw her phone behind her on the bed. She tangled her fingers in Aubrey's hair pulling her closer and moaned. "Yeah, this is definitely going to go further than just making out."


	15. Chapter 15

Aubrey smiled when she heard the key slide into the lock, her head turning slightly even if she couldn't see the entrance without standing up. She heard Stacie's heels walk towards her and she felt her arms wrap around her shoulders.

"Hey, baby." Aubrey tilted her head up and puckered her lips.

Stacie chuckled. "Do you want a kiss?" Aubrey nodded and stretched up trying to reach Stacie. "What am I getting in return?"

Aubrey frowned. "I'm gonna kiss you back, you jerk."

Stacie's smile widened. "Well you should've said that from the beginning."

Stacie leaned down and kissed her, her hands sliding down past her shoulders and grabbing Aubrey's hands, lacing their fingers. Aubrey smiled satisfied when she pulled back, tugging Stacie's hand to make her walk around the couch and sit next to her.

Stacie complied happily, dropping her purse on the chair by the couch before dropping her head on Aubrey's lap. Aubrey's fingers traced her face. "How was the show?"

"I was bored of doing the same thing again so we did Hamlet instead. I played Hamlet, of course." Aubrey's eyebrows shot up and Stacie laughed. "I'm kidding, it was good. A fan gave me some super fancy Belgian chocolates at the stage door. Also, one asked if we were still together and told me to call him if that changed. I made sure to put his number in a safe place."

Aubrey twisted her lips to the side. "Are you planning on breaking up with me?"

"No, but he was like thirteen. Maybe by the time he's legal I'm gonna want to trade you in for a younger model."

Aubrey narrowed her eyes. "He'll probably be over you by then."

"I doubt it." Stacie took Aubrey's hand and looked at her fingers, her playful tone disappearing. "Will you be over me by then?"

"In five years?" Stacie looked up and nodded. "I don't think so."

Stacie smiled in a way that had always made Aubrey's heart skip because she knew she was the cause of it. She leaned down to kiss her and Stacie pushed herself up into a seating position in an attempt to deepen the kiss. Aubrey felt her nibble on her lower lip and pulled back before it got more heated.

"Did you ask Beca if she was free for dinner next Monday?"

Stacie dropped back on her lap. "She said it was fine."

"Great, I'll tell Chloe." Aubrey smiled down at Stacie. "Do you think I should cook or should we get something? Do you know what time your photoshoot is gonna end?"

"No idea, but I'll definitely be done before dinner."

"Okay, good," Aubrey said and kissed Stacie loudly before standing up.

Stacie frowned when her head bounced on the couch and sat up. "Where are you going?"

"I'm gonna call Chloe and check the fridge to see what I need to buy."

Stacie reached out and Aubrey took a step closer to take her hand. "Can't you tell her tomorrow at work? I want to watch something and cuddle."

"We can do that after I talk to Chloe."

Stacie pouted. "But Chloe talks and talks and talks, it'll be an hour before you hang up."

Aubrey pursed her lips. Stacie was right, Chloe didn't know how to have a short phone conversation, and cuddling with Stacie sounded better than talking to anyone or planning their dinner, especially when it was still a week away.

She smiled. "I guess waiting until tomorrow to start planning won't hurt."

* * *

Aubrey's door opened and Chloe strode in. "Do you have a minute?"

"Uh…" Aubrey almost laughed at Chloe asking after disrupting her. "Sure, come on in. You're still coming to dinner tonight, right?"

"Yes, that's not- We need to talk about Beca." Chloe paced in front of Aubrey's desk. "I've been calling her assistant to get her to sign the contracts I sent over, and she keeps saying that Beca's still doing some editing for that movie she did with Stacie so she hasn't had time to look at them. You know we can't start anything until she signs those."

"Can't we start working with the casting director?"

"She's doing it on purpose!" Chloe threw her arms up.

Aubrey tilted her head and arched an eyebrow. "What?"

"Why is she taking so long? Signing something takes what, five minutes if you do it really slow? And you know she's not reading them herself." Chloe shook her finger accusingly. "She's doing it to annoy me."

"Why would she do that?" Aubrey shook her head confused, Chloe was starting to sound crazy.

"I don't know!" Chloe sat down on one of Aubrey's chairs and looked down at her feet. "Maybe because I kind of yelled at her assistant?"

"Chloe!" Aubrey admonished.

"She's so annoying! And she kept talking about you and Stacie and how cute you were and I just wanted to ask about the contracts. And after forever she just said she didn't have them so I got mad." Chloe shrugged.

Aubrey sighed and started to think that this dinner wasn't such a good idea. "I'll talk to Beca about the contracts and about what you did and straighten it out. And apologize next time you talk to Emily."

"Yes, Bree." Chloe nodded and looked down. "I am sorry about it. I mean, it's not the girl's fault her boss is a pain in the ass."

Aubrey linked her fingers and rested her hands on her desk. "Chloe, Beca's coming to dinner tonight too."

Chloe's head shot up. "What? Why?"

"She's Stacie's friend, she invited her."

"But there's other people coming, right?" Chloe leaned back on the chair and crossed her arms. "Please, tell me I'm not gonna have to talk to her."

Aubrey pulled on her earlobe and nodded. "Sure, there's other people coming. Don't worry."

Chloe sighed relieved and straightened up again. "Awes."

"Mhm." Aubrey bit her lip. "If there's nothing else, I was kind of in the middle of something."

"Oh, of course." Chloe stood up and walked to the door. "Sorry about just barging in."

Aubrey waved her apology off. "Can you close the door? Thanks."

Aubrey fumbled inside her desk drawer for her cell phone as soon as the door was closed and called Stacie. "Shit, shit, shit. Come on, pick up, pick up, pick up." She growled when the call went to voicemail. "Call me as soon as you get this."

She sent her a text for good measure and stared at her phone. She needed to invite more people to dinner and get more food.

* * *

"Stacie, your phone's ringing again," Gail called from the other side of the room, holding her own phone away from her ear.

"I'm kinda busy here," Stacie had just sat down with the reporter who was interviewing her. She'd spent most of the morning doing the photoshoot. They'd had to drive around to three different places and it had taken longer than she thought it would. She wanted to be done with this.

"It's Aubrey." Gail walked over holding her phone in her hand. "Do you want me to answer? She's called like five times."

"It'll just take a minute." She smiled apologetically at the woman in front of her and stood up to take the phone from Gail. "Hey, baby. What's up? I'm starting the interview now."

"I know. I'm sorry, I'll be quick." Aubrey sounded stressed and Stacie frowned. "I told Chloe there would be more people than just you and me and Beca so I need you to invite people. I already told Trieste and she's bringing her boyfriend so two more people should be fine."

Stacie groaned. "Is she still with the guy with the boat? I can't sit there and listen to him talking about his boat again."

"You can talk to Beca and whoever else you invite," Aubrey answered, "please."

"Okay, I'll ask Gail and Amy." Gail arched an eyebrow at the mention of her name and Stacie shook her head.

"Thanks, baby. Tell them to be here at seven and you'll get here early, right?"

"Yup, promise." She walked back to where she had been sitting for the interview. "I'll see you later. I love you."

"I love you too. Bye."

Stacie handed the phone back to Gail and sat down. "Sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it," the reporter said.

Her name was Jane; Stacie already knew her from another interview she'd done for her magazine and she liked her. Her questions hadn't felt too intrusive like most people tended to ask, and she remembered the article was good.

Jane started the voice recorder on her phone again and placed it on the table between her and Stacie. They had already gotten through a couple of questions before the interruption so she got right back to it. "So, you've been doing the play for a few months now and you got some mixed reviews." Stacie nodded. "Are you thinking about doing more theatre or are you going to focus on films again?"

"I'd love to do more theatre, I love being onstage, I love that feeling you can only get with a live audience and, even though it's the same play eight shows a week, it feels different every time. I still got a few months on my contract here so, unless it closes early, I'm gonna keep doing this for a bit. And then, we'll see." She nodded at Gail at the back of the room. "I'm sure my agent has a list of things she wants me to do after this, but I'm focusing on this for now and I'll take a look when I'm done."

"But you're staying in New York?"

"Yes, definitely. I love the city and there was always something about LA that I never really got used to. And, of course, Aubrey's here so I'm staying put."

Jane smiled. "Now that you mention Aubrey." Stacie chuckled. "You've been together for close to six months now which is unusual for you, what makes her different?"

"Everything." Stacie smiled widely. "She's my best friend. I know it sounds ridiculous, and I always thought that the people who said that were ridiculous, but that's what makes it work. I love being with her no matter what we're doing, even when she's calling me out on my bullshit. She's stubborn and opinionated and smart and gorgeous; I love her."

Jane's smile widened at the look of absolute adoration on Stacie's face. "Are you doing something special to celebrate your six months together?"

"I haven't really thought about it. We haven't been on a proper date in a while, maybe we should." Stacie wasn't really sure what their public anniversary date was, she guessed her unofficial real date was opening night of her play.

The rest of the interview went by fast, she talked more about the play and a little bit about the movie she did with Beca. Jane thanked her and promised to send her an advance copy of the article in a few days.

Stacie walked over to Gail and took her phone from her. "Hey, Aubrey wanted me to invite you over for dinner tonight."

"Who else is going to be there?" Gail asked without looking up from her phone.

"Me, Aubrey, Beca, Fat Amy, and a couple of Aubrey's friends."

Gail rolled her eyes. "Do I have to?"

Stacie grabbed Gail's arm and walked out with her. "I barely see you anymore, I miss you. Besides, you didn't even come to New York for me, I'm surprised you even showed up to this, the least you could do is have dinner with me."

"Fine." Gail stopped next to the car that was waiting for her. "I want to talk to Aubrey about something anyway."

Stacie held the door when Gail got in the car to keep it from leaving. "What do you want to talk to her about?"

"Some PR stuff for you, don't worry about it." She shooed her with her hand and grabbed the door handle. "Text me the address."

Gail closed the door and left Stacie standing on the sidewalk frowning. She knew Aubrey and Gail talked sometimes, and she liked that Aubrey cared about her career enough to do things that would help her, but she didn't like not knowing what those things were.

She turned around to hail a cab and took her phone out, dialing Amy's number after she gave the driver Aubrey's address.

"Yo, Legs, what's up?"

"Hey, Amy! Do you wanna come over to a dinner party later? I know it's last minute but Aubrey just decided she wanted to do this."

"Sure, sounds good." Amy chuckled. "I wanted to show you something actually, can you stop by the studio right now? We'll go to your dinner after."

"Hmm." Stacie looked at the time, there were still a couple of hours left before she had to be at Aubrey's. "Yeah, I'll be right there."

* * *

Aubrey straightened up the plates on the table and went to the kitchen to check the mini quiches in the oven. The salad was ready and she just had to put the lasagna back in the oven to reheat when she served the first course.

The doorbell rang and she frowned, Stacie would have just come in. "Who is it?"

"It's me!"

Aubrey rolled her eyes at Chloe's response and opened the door. "You know, saying your name would be more useful."

Chloe scoffed. "You know my voice." She walked into the living room. "Did you redecorate?"

Aubrey looked around the room. She grabbed Stacie's jacket from the back of a chair and took it to the hall closet. "Not really, I just added some pictures of Stacie and me."

"Oh yeah." Chloe walked to the shelf where the pictures were. "This one's cute."

She pointed at a picture they'd taken at the balcony of Stacie's apartment. Stacie wanted to take a picture for Instagram, but she kept saying the light wasn't right so they went outside. It was late in the afternoon and the sky was orange and pink, Stacie stood behind her with one arm around her waist and the other one holding the phone in front of them. They tried different setups that predictably led to them making out.

The picture Aubrey had printed was one of the failed shots that weren't picked for sharing. It was slightly off center, but she loved it. Stacie was nuzzling her cheek with her eyes closed and Aubrey was looking at the camera smiling. "Yeah, I like it a lot."

The doorbell rang at the same time as the oven timer so Aubrey walked to kitchen. "Can you get that?"

Chloe nodded and walked to the door. "Where's Stacie, anyway?"

"I'm not sure. She had a photoshoot and an interview earlier but she should be back by now." Aubrey took out her phone to check her texts but Stacie hadn't sent anything. "I'm sure she's on her way."

She heard the door open and started putting the quiches on plates to put on the table while they waited for everyone to get there. She thought it was weird she didn't hear Chloe talking to whoever had just arrived, she usually didn't have any problems socializing.

She grabbed a plate and took it out to the dining room, stopping when she saw Chloe and Beca sitting at opposite ends of the living room in silence. "Hey, Beca."

"Hey," Beca said, standing up and walking over to her. "Do you need help with something?"

"No, everything's ready." She pointed at the quiches and handed her a small plate. "You can start on those while we wait, do you want something to drink?" She started walking back to the kitchen and talked louder so Beca would still hear her. "We have beer and wine and Stacie restocked the liquor cabinet last week so we have everything."

She opened the fridge door, taking a step back and bumping into someone. She yelped and turned around, placing her hand on her chest. Beca was standing behind her looking nervous.

"You didn't have to follow me, I can bring it out."

"Please don't make me go back there," Beca whispered.

Aubrey closed the fridge and turned back to Beca. "What's wrong?"

"Your friend." Aubrey arched an eyebrow. "She's a bitch."

Aubrey pressed her lips tightly, fighting the immediate impulse to smack anyone who said anything bad about Chloe. The truth was she was acting a bit bitchy towards Beca, but tonight was supposed to fix that. "You just need to give her a chance."

"Me? She's the one who's been hostile since the beginning."

Aubrey sighed and grabbed Beca's shoulders. "Just try, Beca. Please? Who knows, maybe you'll hit it off." Beca arched an eyebrow skeptically. "Now, what do you want to drink?"

"Beer is fine."

Aubrey smiled and turned Beca around, pushing her out of the kitchen. "Chlo, is wine okay?"

"Yes, thank you."

Aubrey went back into the kitchen and took out a beer bottle. She took out her phone again, dialing Stacie's number and holding the phone to her ear with her shoulder while she uncorked the wine bottle. The call went straight to voicemail and Aubrey cursed. "Stacie, where are you? Chloe and Beca are here already. You promised you'd be back early. Call me back."

The doorbell rang again and Chloe immediately yelled she'd get it. "Great, buffers."

She grabbed the beer bottle and the wine glass and walked outside just as Gail was coming in. She put both on the table and turned to hug Gail hello. "I'm so glad you could make it." She looked behind her and frowned. "Is Stacie with you?"

"Stacie?" Gail's brow furrowed. "No, the interview finished hours ago. I figured she'd be here by now."

"She's not, and she's not picking up her phone." Aubrey started to get a little worried. "Did she mention going somewhere?"

"No, she just asked me over. She texted me the address like an hour ago, she's probably just stuck in traffic or something."

Aubrey nodded unconvinced. "Yeah, probably. Can I get you something to drink?"

"Wine is fine."

Trieste and and her boyfriend arrived shortly after, and soon Aubrey was running out of quiches and excuses for Stacie's absence. She was also running out of ways to keep Beca and Chloe from snapping at each other.

She came back from refilling someone's drink and looked at her phone again. It was almost eight.

"We should start with the salad, I'm sure Stacie's almost here," she said with a smile as she ushered them to the dining room.

As if on cue, there was a loud thump against the door and the sound of keys jingling on the other side. Aubrey rushed to the door and opened it, finding Stacie hunched over with Fat Amy behind her.

Stacie straightened up and smiled widely, throwing her arms around Aubrey's neck. "Baby!"

Aubrey scrunched up her nose when the smell of alcohol from Stacie's breath hit her. "Are you drunk?" She looked at Amy. "Is she drunk?"

Amy rolled her eyes. "Lightweight." She walked past them. "I'm starving, what's for dinner?"

Aubrey pushed Stacie back and walked behind Amy. "I was just about to serve the salad, take a seat. We'll be right back."

She took Stacie's hand and pulled her to the kitchen. Stacie smiled and wrapped her arms around her waist when she stopped. "I've missed you."

Aubrey put a hand on her chest keeping her back. "Stacie, stop."

"What's wrong?" Stacie looked genuinely confused and it made Aubrey angrier.

"Are you kidding? You're late and you're drunk!" She pinched the bridge of her nose and stepped away, going to the fridge and getting some water for Stacie. She shoved the glass into her hand. "Drink this."

Stacie looked at the glass as if she was wondering how it had materialized in her hand before she took a few large sips. "I'm fine. And I'm sorry I'm late. Amy wanted to show me her new line and we had a few drinks."

"Whatever, let's just get through this dinner." Aubrey grabbed the salad bowl and gave it to Stacie. "Can you take that to the table?"

"I'm fine." Stacie said, placing a quick kiss on Aubrey's cheek before walking out of the kitchen.

Aubrey shook her head. She couldn't believe Stacie had done this tonight.

She put the lasagna in the oven and went back out, relaxing a little when she saw everyone was already starting to eat. She took her seat next to Stacie who immediately placed her hand on her thigh.

"Hey," Stacie whispered and waited for Aubrey to look at her. "I'm sorry."

Aubrey nodded and kissed her quickly before turning away. They didn't talk much for the rest of the night. Aubrey spent it serving food and talking to everyone else while Stacie had put herself in charge of refilling people's drinks. She hadn't had anything to drink since she got home and was pretty sobered up by the time the dessert came out.

Amy, who had been sitting next to Beca, clapped the short brunette on the shoulder making her wince. "So, Beca, who's more annoying to work with Stacie or Aubrey?"

"Stacie, definitely." Beca said, ignoring Stacie's glare and taking a spoonful of pie.

"Hey, you loved working with me." Stacie shoved her shoulder. "You're the most annoying one."

Chloe snorted loudly and everyone looked at her.

"Got something to say, Chloe?" Beca asked.

"Nope, just thought it was funny that even your friends think you're annoying." Chloe raised her eyebrows and pursed her lips.

"What the fuck is your problem with me?"

"Guys, come on." Stacie interrupted. "We were having a good time."

Beca dropped her spoon. "Whatever, I have to go anyway." She stood up, grabbing her jacket and purse from the living room and walking to the door. "Thanks for dinner."

Everyone looked down at their plate awkwardly except Aubrey and Stacie who were glaring at Chloe.

Chloe shrugged innocently. "What?"

They finished their dessert in silence, everyone excusing themselves as soon as they were done. Aubrey started taking their dirty plates to the kitchen while Stacie walked the last person out.

"Well that was fun." Stacie said as she walked back into the kitchen. She walked up to Aubrey and placed her hand on her shoulder.

Aubrey shrugged her off. "Don't." She turned around and went back to the dining room to pick up the rest of the plates. "You should go to your apartment. I'm just gonna clean this up and go to sleep."

"I'll help you."

Aubrey put the plates down and turned to her. "I don't want your help right now. Just go."

"Aubrey, come on." Stacie took a step closer but stopped when Aubrey looked up at her.

"Stacie, you were an hour late after you promised you'd get here early."

"I said I was sorry." Stacie ran her hand through her hair. "My phone died and we completely lost track of time. I didn't do it on purpose."

"I know. I just need some time to not be mad, okay?" She took Stacie's hand and squeezed her fingers. "We'll talk later."

Stacie bit her lip and nodded. "Okay, I'll leave."


	16. Chapter 16

Aubrey got to work early the morning after the dinner party. She woke up with her head on Stacie's pillow. Her pillow. Sometimes she forgot they'd only been really dating for a couple of months. And that the pillow was, in fact, hers. They didn't live together. But she was already used to Stacie's body next to her every morning, to spending at least fifteen minutes after she woke up just enjoying being in Stacie's arms. She felt cold without her. It took her half the time it usually took to get ready, sighing at the door and looking back at the empty bed before leaving.

She walked through the empty office, glad no one was at work yet. She didn't feel like talking to anyone, and Ashley was gonna ask about how the dinner went since she'd been fretting about it for a week. She hoped Chloe didn't have anything to say about it either after the way she'd behaved. She didn't know if she was angrier at Chloe or at Stacie. Probably Chloe.

She understood Stacie hadn't been late on purpose, and she knew she had every intention to get there early when she promised she would. But that was part of the problem. Stacie never did anything wrong on purpose, she just didn't think about the consequences of her actions. She was impulsive, and Aubrey loved that about her, but sometimes it clashed with her type A personality a little too much.

Chloe was just being a bitch. Aubrey wasn't sure what her problem was, but until she got over it, she wasn't going to let her work with Beca. Trying to make them get along socially had clearly been a mistake, but she couldn't treat one of their directors like that. She was going to have to apologize to Beca and reassign the legal side of that project to someone else.

She looked up from her computer for the first time when there was a knock on her door a few hours later. Ashley came in carrying a vase with white and yellow daisies and put it on her desk. "These just came for you."

"Thank you." Aubrey twisted her lips and plucked the card from the top, taking it out of its envelope and opening it.

_Every time you smile you get me warm all over. -S_

Aubrey rolled her eyes but the side of her mouth quirked up. Despite her faults, all of which Aubrey had analyzed at length many times before and decided she could live with them, Stacie knew exactly what to do to make her melt. It had always been very hard for her to stay mad at Stacie, even before she fell in love with her. Sometimes all it took was a look and she got Aubrey to do whatever she wanted.

Aubrey wasn't sure if it was Stacie's strength or her own weakness. Maybe it was a combination of both. But whatever it was, it didn't have its full effect if she couldn't see or hear Stacie. Which was why her hand stopped short when she reached for her phone. She squeezed her hand closed and shook her head. She was still mad, and even though the flowers had chipped away her anger a little, she wasn't ready to talk to Stacie yet. Not without risking saying something she might regret later.

And while she had the option to not talk to Stacie, she had to deal with Chloe sooner rather than later. She reached for her desk phone and buzzed Ashley. "Can you ask Chloe to come over, please?"

"Umm, sure."

Aubrey knew it was weird for her to be asking Ashley to call Chloe. If she needed her for something she either called her herself or went over to her office. She heard a knock on her door shortly after. Chloe surely knew she wasn't happy with her or she would have just barged in like she usually did.

Chloe started talking as soon as Aubrey told her to come in. "Bree, I know you're mad but-"

Aubrey stood up and raised her hand to stop her. She looked down at her hands on her desk, avoiding eye contact with Chloe. "I need you to get all the paperwork we have on the movie we're doing with Beca and pass it on to someone else. Please make sure you point out anything that's still ongoing or missing."

"Bree, but-"

"No buts, you're off the project." Aubrey looked at Chloe this time and she immediately closed her mouth when she noticed the anger in Aubrey's eyes. "I wanted you to get along with Beca because she's Stacie's friend, but I really couldn't care less anymore. Hate her, don't hate her, it's your problem. But I can't have you working with her if you can't act professionally."

"I know what I-"

"You can go." Aubrey looked down at her desk again and grabbed the first folder she found, opening it and pretending to read it.

Chloe bit her lip and nodded, swallowing hard before turning around and leaving the office.

Aubrey sighed and dropped the folder. She knew she had been a little harsh to Chloe but she didn't want to get into a fight with her in the office. She'd eventually had to talk to her and forgive her but not here.

She wanted to talk to someone about this whole thing but she'd usually talk to Stacie about Chloe and vice versa. She could call Trieste, she at least knew what had happened last night but she'd have to listen to her talking about herself for at least an hour before she could get a word in edgewise. She needed more friends.

She thought about calling Stacie again but decided against it, calling Ashley again instead. "Ash, can you get me Beca Mitchell on the phone?"

* * *

Aubrey walked to the table where Beca was sitting and smiled. "Beca! I'm glad you could meet me on such short notice."

"I was going to be editing all day, you saved me from skipping lunch."

Aubrey sat down and grabbed her menu. She put it down after she decided what she wanted and pursed her lips. "Look, Beca, I wanted to apologize for last night."

Beca shook her head. "It wasn't your fault."

"But it was." Aubrey sighed. "I was trying to get you two get along." Beca arched an eyebrow at her. "I know, it was stupid. But Chloe is my best friend and you're Stacie's friend. And we're working together now. I don't know." Aubrey shrugged. "I guess I just wanted to prevent what happened last night from happening at our wedding."

Beca's eyebrows moved higher. "Your wedding?"

Aubrey's eyes widened and she blushed. "I mean, an event. An important event for Stacie and me."

"Like your wedding?" Beca asked slowly. "You lesbians really do move fast."

"Hey!" Aubrey slapped Beca's arm. "I'm not proposing anytime soon. Especially not after last night."

Beca snorted. "Yeah, that wasn't Stacie's finest hour either."

"She was drunk," Aubrey deadpanned and shook her head. "I wanted to kill her when she came in. If you hadn't been there I might have; though it wouldn't have been that big of a deal in that case." Aubrey scoffed. "She sent me a bouquet of daisies today, like that fixed everything."

"You're not breaking up with her, right?"

"No! No." Aubrey shook her head. "I'm just mad. We'll be fine."

"She really loves you, you know?" Beca said seriously.

Aubrey nodded. "I know. I really love her too."

"Good, because I'm starting to get on board with the whole wedding thing," Beca said with a smirk.

"Shut up. And don't tell her I said that, I don't want her to freak out about something that's not gonna happen for a long time."

Beca laughed. "Do you really think she'll freak out? I feel like she's had a ring with your name on it for years."

Aubrey smiled despite herself. "She acts that way, but she's not ready to talk, or even think, about getting married right now."

"So I should cancel the bachelorette party?"

Aubrey rolled her eyes. "I'm starting to feel less animosity towards Chloe."

"You just apologized, you really want to go there?"

"You're right, I'm sorry." They paused when their food arrived and they started eating. After a few bites, Aubrey put down her utensils and looked at Beca. "Putting aside whatever our personal relationship is, I want you to know that my work, our work, is very important to me. I took Chloe off the movie, you won't have to deal with her anymore."

"You didn't have to do that."

"I didn't want it to be awkward for anyone." She picked up her fork and focused back on her food. "It's fine, Chloe's got other things to do."

Beca looked at Aubrey and tilted her head. "How did that go?" Aubrey hummed and raised her eyebrows. "Telling Chloe she wasn't gonna work in that movie anymore, how did that go?"

"It went fine." Beca looked at her skeptically and Aubrey sighed. "It's hard sometimes, being her boss. Most of the time it's great, I love working with my best friend. She's been there since I started. But it's hard sometimes."

"Well..." Beca patted the back of Aubrey's hand. "Hang in there, buddy."

Aubrey's brow furrowed and she stared at Beca's hand until she took it away. "You're not very good at this, are you?"

"I'm trying!"

Aubrey laughed and shook her head. She was interrupted by her phone ringing. She showed Beca the screen with Stacie's name. "Her ears were ringing." She picked up. "Yes?"

"Hey, baby. How's your day going?"

"It's going fine," Aubrey said curtly.

"I missed you this morning." Aubrey tried to keep her heart from fluttering but failed. "Did you get my flowers?"

"I did, thanks."

"Did you read the note?" Stacie's voice sounded sad and Aubrey felt the need to hug her.

"Yes. It was good." Beca poked her, mouthing 'be nice' and Aubrey slapped her hand away. "I'm having lunch. We'll talk later, okay?"

"Yeah, okay." Aubrey felt a pang of guilt at the disappointment in Stacie's voice. "I love you."

"Me too."

Aubrey hung up. Beca was looking at her with her eyebrows raised. "Shut up."

* * *

There was a dark spot on the ceiling. Stacie couldn't tell if it had been caused by humidity or something else, but it looked like Australia, or maybe a dog. Stacie changed her mind about it every few minutes, which had been about twenty times in the time she'd been lying on the couch in her dressing room staring at it. She had been trying to stop thinking about Aubrey, to stop looking at her phone to check if she'd texted or called. She was going crazy.

Someone knocked on her door. "Stacie Conrad!" Stacie winced when she heard Gail yelling outside her dressing room. She thought about running into the bathroom and hiding. She'd gotten to the theater really early to avoid running into anyone outside, maybe she'd think she wasn't there yet. "I know you're in there, I saw you signed in."

Stacie groaned. "I'm coming." She stood up and wrenched the door open. "What?"

Gail pushed past her. "Don't give me that. You know what."

"Sure, come in." Stacie rolled her eyes and closed the door, flopping back down on the couch.

"What the hell happened last night?"

Stacie shrugged. She felt bad enough about Aubrey being mad already, she didn't need Gail yelling at her about it too. "Amy wanted to show me her new line. We had some drinks and it got late."

"You're an idiot."

"My phone died! I didn't know how late it was."

Gail shook her head. "Not a valid excuse."

"I wasn't that late, or that drunk. It wasn't a big deal."

"It was for Aubrey. She was worried about you and she had to do everything on her own, while running interference between Beca and that other girl."

"Chloe." Stacie sighed. "I didn't mean to be late."

"You're an idiot. What did she say?"

"Nothing. She told me to go home after you left. She was mad, she said she needed time to stop being mad so I left."

"Did you apologize?"

"Of course I apologized, I'm not stupid." Gail scoffed and Stacie glared at her. "And I sent her flowers, and I called her and she still sounded mad. She said we'd talk later but she hasn't called or texted."

"Did you mean it when you apologized?"

Stacie rolled her eyes. "I guess. I didn't do it on purpose!"

"Stacie." Gail steepled her fingers. "When you apologize, really apologize, you can't try to justify what you did. If you really did something wrong, which you definitely did in this case, you accept it and say you're sorry. And if that doesn't work you grovel."

"So you think I should do it again?"

"I think you should get on your knees and beg for forgiveness. That girl is too good for you."

"I know." Stacie pouted. "I'll go see her after the show."

Gail smiled. "Good girl."

* * *

Aubrey was coming out of the kitchen when she heard the door open. She looked up and watched as Stacie took a few tentative steps inside the apartment. She put the glass of water she was holding on a side table, and closed the distance between her and Stacie before she could say anything, wrapping her arms around her.

Stacie hugged her back, burying her nose in her hair and taking a deep breath. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," Aubrey said, squeezing her tighter.

Aubrey pulled her head back and looked at Stacie, cupping her cheek. Stacie turned her head and kissed her palm. "Can we talk?"

Aubrey nodded and kissed her. It was quick but soft. She wanted to reassure Stacie, but keep it chaste enough for them to not get sidetracked. She took a step away from Stacie and took her hand, pulling her to the couch.

"Do you want something to eat?"

"I ate before the show, thanks." She squeezed Aubrey's hand. "Have you eaten?"

"Yes, I ate earlier." Aubrey focused on their joined hands, knowing that the second she looked at Stacie she was lost. "Listen, Stace. I know you didn't do it on purpose, but I need you to understand, and be there, when something is important to me. It's not that I want you to drop everything and do what I tell you, when I tell you to do it. I just need to be able to count on you."

"And you can." Stacie scooted closer and tilted Aubrey's head up. "You're right, I should have been more aware of the time. I'm sorry I wasn't here for you."

Aubrey looked into Stacie's eyes and felt a smile tugging at her lips. She hadn't expected Stacie to accept she was wrong, she usually didn't. "Okay."

"Okay?" Stacie grinned widely at her and Aubrey nodded. Stacie leaned forward to kiss her. "I thought I was going to have to work a little harder."

Aubrey cupped her cheek and chuckled against her lips. She kissed her a few more times before leaning against the back of the couch. "Just because I forgave you, you shouldn't feel like you can't still make up for it."

"Oh?" Stacie straddled her. "And how would I do that?"

Aubrey fiddled with the hem of Stacie's shirt. "I'm sure you can think of something."

"Lap dance?" Stacie rolled her hips making Aubrey chuckle. "I'm really good. I took dance lessons at Juilliard."

"Lap dance lessons?" Stacie ran her hands down her body and leaned forward. "Baby, if one of your teachers told you lap dances were part of your grade, you should have reported them."

Stacie stopped moving and looked at Aubrey unamused. "Are you done mocking me?" Aubrey pressed her lips closed and nodded. "All I'm saying is that I can dance. And I'm very flexible."

"I have benefitted from your flexibility once or twice," Aubrey replied with a smirk. She grabbed Stacie's neck and pulled her down for a kiss, her other hand sneaking under her shirt. She ran her nails down her back and Stacie moaned.

She let go of Stacie's neck and pulled her shirt over her head, throwing it behind Stacie. "I think we can save the lap dance for next time."

Stacie smirked when she saw the hunger in Aubrey's eyes as she looked at her chest.

"It's new," Stacie said, tracing the edge of her bra. "It has a front clasp."

Aubrey reached forward and covered the clasp with her hands, licking her lips and looking up at Stacie for a second before unlatching it. She kept her hands over Stacie's breasts and pressed her nose against one, kissing down the side and up the other one, removing her hands when she reached the top.

"Were you planning on taking off your shirt if the apology didn't work?" Aubrey mumbled against Stacie's skin.

Stacie shrugged. "Would it have worked?"

Aubrey chuckled and swirled her tongue around Stacie's nipple making her moan. "Probably not."

"I find that hard to believe." Aubrey bit her lightly in response and she hissed. "What if I'd taken off my pants too?"

Aubrey ran her hands down her back and inside her pants. "You can't just start taking off your clothes to win an argument."

"What if it's an argument about how hot I am?"

Aubrey was kissing across her chest and stopped, leaning back and arching an eyebrow. "Do you really think we'll ever have that argument?"

"Maybe. You could meet someone you think is hotter."

Aubrey ran her fingers down Stacie's abs slowly. "In that case, you can take off your clothes to prove me wrong."

She rested her hands on the button of her jeans. "Do you want to move this to the bedroom?"

"Nope." She stood up and Aubrey frowned confused. Stacie reached down and tugged at the waist of Aubrey's pants. "Lift."

Aubrey did as she was told and Stacie pulled down her pants and underwear, pushing her back down onto the couch when she was done. She moved back the coffee table and pushed Aubrey's legs open, kneeling down in between.

Stacie started trailing kisses up her inner thigh. "I was told I should get on my knees and beg for forgiveness."

"Stace." Aubrey's breath hitched in her throat and she had to swallow before speaking again. "I already forgave you."

Stacie smirked and looked up. "Do you want me to stop?" Aubrey bit her lip hard and shook her head. "I didn't think so."


	17. Chapter 17

Aubrey slipped back into consciousness slowly. She felt a weight over her waist and warmth on her back. She scooted back closer to that warmth, waking up further, recognizing it as Stacie's body and smiling. She knew a day without this wasn't that long, but she really had missed it.

She felt Stacie's arm tighten around her waist and her fingers brush over her stomach.

"Morning." Stacie said groggily behind her and kissed her shoulder.

Aubrey reached behind her and buried her hand in Stacie's hair as Stacie's lips moved up to her neck.

"Hey." Aubrey rolled over and pressed her body close to Stacie's, wrapping her arms and legs tightly around her. She pecked her lips a few times, smiling widely.

Stacie chuckled and adjusted her arms around Aubrey's waist. "What's up, monkey?"

"I missed this yesterday morning."

"You missed climbing me like a rope?" Stacie chuckled kissing her repeatedly and squeezing her tightly.

"I missed you in my bed."

"I missed being in your bed." Stacie tilted her head and looked at her seriously. "And since it was my fault, I'm making breakfast. French toast?"

"But you'd have to get up." Aubrey pouted.

Stacie's smile returned and she kissed Aubrey softly. "Yes, but I'll be back. With food." She said inbetween kisses. "And coffee."

She rolled on top of Aubrey, trying to pull away but Aubrey's limbs were still wrapped tightly around her body. "No! Stay."

Stacie wiggled, trying to free herself. "I wanna make you breakfast."

Aubrey cupped her cheek, looking into her eyes. "You don't have to."

"I know." Stacie leaned down and rubbed their noses together. She knew she'd been forgiven but she still felt like she had to make up for it. "I want to do it."

Aubrey smirked. "I guess it would be rude to say no to french toast in bed."

She let go of Stacie and landed heavily on the bed. Stacie kissed her, pressing her head down onto the pillow before rolling off the bed. "Don't move."

Aubrey stretched on the bed and watched her put on some shorts and a tank top. "Bring me juice too."

"Sure thing, babe." Stacie winked before leaving the room.

Aubrey hugged Stacie's pillow to her chest, breathing in Stacie's scent and smiling goofily. Aubrey had been pleasantly surprised by Stacie's attitude. She hadn't expected Stacie would apologize again, she wasn't great at admitting her faults. Then again, they hadn't really fought since they'd gotten together. And Stacie was really going all out with her acts of contrition.

The make up sex had been amazing, not that sex with Stacie was ever not amazing, but Stacie had been especially attentive that night. She was sore and tired but she didn't care.

Aubrey rolled onto her stomach and closed her eyes. After sex, they stayed up talking for a little while until they were both too exhausted to stay awake, and they definitely hadn't slept enough.

She was woken up by Stacie's hand on her back, her fingers tracing her spine lightly. "Breakfast is ready." Aubrey groaned and turned to look at Stacie, grinning when she saw her pick up the tray she'd left on the dresser.

Aubrey sat up so Stacie could place the tray on the bed. There was a plate with french toast and bacon, two cups of coffee and a glass of orange juice. A single white daisy was laying on the corner of the tray and Aubrey picked it up.

"You stole this from my flowers from yesterday?"

"I repurposed it."

Aubrey put it back and grabbed her phone from the nightstand to take a picture of the tray.

"What are you doing?" Stacie asked sitting next to her.

"Taking a picture for Instagram." Aubrey took her time picking a filter and Stacie watched her amused.

"When did you get an Instagram account?"

"Beca helped me set it up the other night. Gail thinks we should interact on social media. I also got twitter." She started typing the caption and looked up at Stacie with a frown. "How do I add you on this?"

Stacie smiled at how adorably confused she looked and took the phone. "You just need to add my username like this…" She wrote it for her. "I'll repost it on mine too."

She gave the phone back and kissed Aubrey's cheek before turning to grab her phone. She opened the app and looked at Aubrey's post.

_**AubreyPosen:** Breakfast in bed! I have the best girlfriend. @StacieConrad_

"You're gonna get a bunch of followers." Stacie said as she reposted the picture.

_**StacieConrad:** You're the best, baby! @AubreyPosen_

Stacie smiled and grabbed her coffee and a strip of bacon. "Eat."

"Since when do I have bacon?"

"Since I've been staying over? I love bacon." She offered a piece to Aubrey and she took a bite. "It's great."

Aubrey nodded at the tray. "Where's your juice?"

"I'm just having coffee." Stacie cut a piece of french toast and lifted her fork towards Aubrey's mouth. "Oh, look! French toast!"

Aubrey rolled her eyes and snatched it, leaving a sticky, syrupy kiss on Stacie's lips afterwards. "You have to eat better."

"I'm offended. I'm the best eater there is." Stacie countered. "And judging from the way you beg me to not stop, you think so too."

"You know what I mean." Aubrey grabbed her utensils and continued eating, pushing the piece of toast with the missing corner to Stacie's side. "You're thirty, you have to start being smarter about your health."

"Fine, I'll go get juice." She put her mug down on the tray and jumped out of bed. "Don't eat my bacon!"

"Do I look like I want to eat your bacon?" Aubrey scoffed, lowering her voice and grabbing a piece once Stacie was gone. "Because I do, and I am."

She chewed and swallowed quickly, doing her best to look innocent when Stacie came back.

"So, have you decided what you're gonna do about Chloe?" Stacie asked as she walked through the door.

Aubrey had told her about what happened with Chloe the previous night, but they had fallen asleep before they reached a conclusion. She groaned. "Ignore her forever?"

"That's a good plan." Stacie nodded and sat back on the bed. "Except she works for you and she's your friend so that might not work." Aubrey shrugged. "You can't avoid her forever unless you fire her."

"I know. You're right." Aubrey admitted begrudgingly. "But I could ignore her for a while longer."

"You're gonna have to hear her out eventually. Do you even know what her problem with Beca is?"

"I'm not sure I understand it completely." Aubrey sighed. "I'll talk to her."

Stacie smiled and kissed her before focusing back on her food. Stopping when she realized something was missing. "You ate my bacon."

"I had one piece."

"You ate my bacon!" Stacie pushed the tray back and straddled Aubrey. "Now you're gonna pay."

"I haven't finished eating." Aubrey challenged, raising an eyebrow.

"You ate my bacon."

"It was a tiny piece." Aubrey lifted her thumb and forefinger showing Stacie how small it was. "Why didn't I get my own bacon?"

"You would've said you didn't want it and I would've had to eat more." Stacie tilted her head. "This way, you can act like you don't want any but still take mine. Like when I get fries."

"So you knew I was gonna eat it!" Aubrey poked her shoulder. "Give me my breakfast back."

"You haven't paid!" She pushed Aubrey onto her back and kissed her.

"This does not feel like you're punishing me." Aubrey said between kisses.

Stacie smirked devilishly. "Give it a minute."

* * *

"You're late!"

Aubrey crossed to her office in a hurry. "Thank you, Ashley. I'm so glad you're here to let me, and the entire office, know everytime I'm late."

"You have a conference call with Donna Langley and her people in ten minutes."

"I know." Aubrey entered her office and powered on her computer.

"And I have the list of casting directors you wanted. They're all available."

"Thank you. Anything else?"

Ashley bit her lip nervously. "Chloe wanted to know if you were free for lunch."

Aubrey opened her mouth surprised. Despite having told Stacie she'd talk to Chloe, she was hoping she could still avoid her for a bit. "Am I?"

"You are, but I told her I'd check with you and get back to her."

Aubrey knew Chloe would be upset if she said no. She couldn't put this off without escalating the problem. "Tell her it's fine."

Ashley nodded and walked out, leaving Aubrey alone. She opened up the files she needed for her conference call and skimmed them one last time. She knew everything she needed to know but it didn't hurt to over prepare.

She checked her calendar, noticing Ashley had already added her lunch with Chloe and sighed. She hoped it wouldn't end up in another fight, she really didn't want to spoil her day when it had started so well.

She smiled as she remembered that morning and the previous night. Aubrey was starting to think she wouldn't mind a few minor fights if Stacie was always going to act this way whenever she did something wrong. She figured Stacie was probably overcompensating since it was their first real fight as a couple, and Aubrey had told her several times it really wasn't necessary, but it was hard to complain when her make up breakfast in bed turned into morning make up sex, that then turned into shower sex, and ended up with Stacie pinning her against the front door as she was about to leave, resulting in her being late.

She was startled out of her thoughts by the phone ringing.

The conference call didn't end until it was almost time for lunch. She took out her cellphone, knowing she didn't have time to do any actual work before she had to meet Chloe, and noticed she had an Instagram notification saying that someone had started following her. She frowned and tapped on it, her frown deepening when she saw all the new likes, and comments her picture had. She went to her profile and her eyes widened when she saw how many followers she had.

She closed the app and called Stacie.

"Hey, baby. Miss me already?"

Aubrey smiled and rolled her eyes. "Maybe. What are you doing?"

"I'm still home. I'm cleaning up the stuff from breakfast." Aubrey's stomach flipped when Stacie referred to her apartment as 'home'. "How's your day going?"

"It's fine, I just finished a conference call and I'm going to have lunch with Chloe in a bit."

"That's great, Bree! I could've bet you were going to avoid it for a little longer."

Aubrey chuckled because of course Stacie knew her well enough to think that. "That was the plan but she asked to have lunch with me and I couldn't say no."

"It's going to be fine, babe. You and Chloe are too close for something this dumb to come between you. You'll fix it."

"I know." Aubrey smiled, wishing Stacie was there and suddenly remembering why she'd called her. "Hey, I wanted to ask you something?"

"What's up?"

"Since I posted that picture, close to a hundred thousand people started following me on Instagram. Is that normal? Who are these people?"

Stacie laughed. "Yes, it's normal. I told you you'd get tons of followers."

"I know, but I didn't think it would be this many! And they're commenting. Do I have to reply?"

"No!" Stacie answered quickly. "Don't engage. Most of them are harmless, but there are a few weirdos and you don't know how to handle that."

"You reply to people on twitter sometimes." Aubrey replied petulantly.

"Yeah, but I've been doing this whole being famous on social media thing for a while. If you really want to, we can look at it together and pick someone you can reply to."

"No, it's fine. I just wanted to know what the protocol was." There was a knock on her door and Chloe's head popped inside. Aubrey lifted her finger for her to wait and Chloe went back out.

"You don't have to do anything. Post your picture and then leave it be. You don't even have to read the comments."

"Okay." She tapped her fingers on her desk. She knew she shouldn't leave Chloe waiting but she was reluctant to end the call and go with her. "Chloe's here, I should go."

"Hey, it's going to be alright." Stacie must have heard the hesitance in her tone because her voice softened. "I'm going to the gym later, but I'll have my phone with me if you need anything."

"Thanks, baby. I love you."

"I love you too, babe."

Aubrey ended the call and put the phone back in her purse, taking a deep, calming breath before walking to the door. Chloe looked up from the chair next to Ashley's desk and smiled nervously.

"I made you a reservation at Aburiya."

"Thanks, Ashley." Aubrey smiled tightly at her, knowing that she'd picked that restaurant on purpose because they took a while to cook and serve their food. "Shall we?"

Aubrey waited until Chloe got up and followed her to the elevator. Once they were inside, they stood awkwardly staring at the front without saying anything. Aubrey bounced impatiently on her toes and looked at her nails, noticing she needed a manicure and thinking maybe she could talk Stacie into doing her nails. It was less annoying than going to a salon and they looked just as good.

Finally, the elevator dinged signaling their arrival to the ground floor and Aubrey walked out, followed closely by Chloe, smiling at her driver once she left the building and getting into her town car. She knew the ride was going to be just as awkward as the elevator so she discreetly dialed Stacie's number, grabbing her phone and picking it up as if it had rang.

"Hey, what's up?"

"Umm. You called me, weirdo." Stacie said. "I thought you were going to lunch."

"I'm on my way to lunch now, baby." Aubrey smiled apologetically at Chloe, who gave her a small smile back and looked out the window.

"Oh, and you didn't want to go through the whole awkward car ride so you called me?" Stacie chuckled. "It's cool, I can pretend I had a reason to call you."

"Yeah? That's great."

"Not that I need a reason, I always want to hear your voice." Stacie lowered her voice. "I was just changing for the gym, wanna guess what I'm wearing?"

"You know, Stace, I don't think that's such a great idea at the moment." Aubrey tried to sound normal.

"Come on. If you guess right, I'll take it off." Stacie was using her bedroom voice and Aubrey stifled a whimper.

Aubrey took a quick look at Chloe and then turned away, covering her mouth with her hand and lowering her voice. "Stacie, I can't right now." She looked again to make sure Chloe wasn't paying attention. "But you can show me tonight."

"Sounds like a plan." Stacie said sultrily.

Aubrey straightened up and went back to speaking normally. "I'll meet you at your place tonight? I'll bring dinner."

"Yeah, I'll meet you there."

"And maybe you can do my nails after dinner?" Aubrey asked sweetly.

Stacie chuckled. "I'm very expensive, I'm not sure you can afford it."

"I'm sure we can arrange some form of payment plan." Chloe groaned making Aubrey blush. She looked out the window and realized they were almost at the restaurant. "I'll see you tonight, baby. I love you."

"Love you too! Good luck with lunch."

Aubrey placed her phone on her lap and turned to Chloe. "I'm sorry about that. You know how Stacie is."

Chloe smiled at her and Aubrey noticed something weird in her look. Aubrey opened her mouth to say something about it but she didn't know what to say and the car was already slowing down.

She smiled at Chloe and opened the door, shaking her head and walking into the restaurant. She hated that things were so awkward with Chloe right now, and she knew it wasn't all Chloe's fault. She sighed, following the hostess to their table.

As soon as they were seated, Chloe started talking. "Bree, I want to apologize." She took a deep breath. "I know that the way I acted was inexcusable, and I'm not going to try to justify it. It was petty and stupid and I'm sorry." Aubrey was surprised by the quick onslaught of words. It seemed that Chloe had been thinking about what she was going to say for a while and she talked without pausing. "I already apologized to Beca and Emily, and I understand you taking me off the project. But I need you to know that I will not do that again."

She nodded and looked up at Aubrey nervously.

"Thank you, Chlo." Aubrey said. "It really wasn't good. And if Beca hadn't been working with us it wouldn't have been as bad, but you have to understand that I can't have my employees fighting with people we're working with, even if they're friends."

"I know, Bree. It was really unprofessional and I'm really sorry." Chloe bit her lip. "And I will take any consequences you deem adequate."

"I think taking you off the project was enough consequence." Aubrey smiled and took her hand. "And I'm sorry I tried to force you to get along with her. I made it worse."

"No. I mean, yes, probably. But it's not your fault." Chloe squeezed her hand, clearly relieved that Aubrey had accepted her apology. "I was horrible."

"Yes, you were." Aubrey stuck her tongue out and took back her hand.

The waiter came over to take their order, and once they were done, Aubrey retook the conversation.

"I know Beca isn't the easiest person to get along with, it took me a while to get used to her, but is that all it is? Because I feel like you disliked her even before you met her."

"I've been thinking about that." Chloe looked down and Aubrey saw the same look she saw in the car. "I think I'm jealous of her?"

Chloe grimaced as if accepting that fact was physically painful for her.

"Jealous? Of Beca, why?"

Chloe sighed. "I've been your friend for, what, five years? And Beca just met Stacie, and it feels like she's more your friend now than me."

"Chloe, that's ridiculous." Aubrey shook her head. "You're my best friend."

"I thought Stacie was your best friend." Chloe mumbled.

"That's different. Stacie is my soulmate." She paused when she realized what she said. "I guess, if I believed in that." Aubrey scrunched up her nose. "But I can't imagine my life without you, Chlo."

"Really?" Chloe looked up at her, her blue eyes shining slightly.

Aubrey rolled her eyes good naturedly. "Of course. I love you."

Chloe smiled widely. "I love you too."

The waiter came back with their starters, their conversation pausing while they started eating. Aubrey was glad they had cleared the air, their silence as they ate felt more natural and less strained than before.

Chloe smirked at Aubrey after a while. "So, your soulmate, huh?"

Aubrey's ears turned red and she ducked her head. "I don't really believe in that."

"But if you did, Stacie would be it." It wasn't a question. "You're really serious about this, then?"

"I've known Stacie for over ten years, I wouldn't have gotten into it if I wasn't serious." Aubrey shrugged, trying to downplay the weight of her words.

"Have you told Stacie?"

Aubrey arched an eyebrow. "That I'm serious about us? I think she knows."

Chloe shook her head. "That she's your soulmate."

"I don't believe in that. I don't know why I said it." She took a bite to try and avoid the topic, but the thought made her heart beat faster. "We're really good right now, we don't need to explicitly discuss the seriousness of our relationship."

Chloe tilted her head and studied Aubrey, her lips quirking up. "I'm really happy for you."

"Thanks." Aubrey smiled a little bit embarrassed, which felt ridiculous because this was Chloe. She chuckled at herself. "What do you think about going out on Friday? Just you and me."

"I think it's a great idea." Chloe smiled like everything was right with the world. And right then, for the first time in a really long time, Aubrey felt like it was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought I'd compensate a little for what backinthebox and her rebels are doing. Thanks for reading!


	18. Chapter 18

Stacie usually didn't do this, she knew Aubrey liked planning her entire day up to the second, but she'd called Ashley earlier and she'd told her Aubrey was free for lunch, so she showed up at her office unannounced.

Figuring Ashley had already left for lunch when she found her desk empty, she walked straight into Aubrey's office, stopping when she saw there was someone else there.

"What…" Stacie turned and pointed at the door, then turned back towards the two women. "Ashley told me you were free for lunch."

Aubrey frowned. "This wasn't in my calendar, it's not a work thing."

"Hi, Stacie." Gail said in an amused tone.

"What are you-" Stacie scrunched up her nose. "I didn't know you were in town, why are you here?"

"I had a meeting and I thought I'd run some of your holiday events by Aubrey."

"My holiday events?" Stacie repeated slowly.

Aubrey stood up from where she was sitting and walked over to Stacie, taking her hand. "We thought you could go to a few things, check out some of those end of the year awards you're nominated for, maybe volunteer at a soup kitchen on Thanksgiving..."

She pulled her over to the couch that she and Gail had been occupying. There were several sheets of paper laid out on the table in front of them, as well as several envelopes with invitations.

Aubrey sat down next to her and ran her thumb over the back of Stacie's hand. "We were going through these invitations."

Stacie picked up the first one, an invitation to some charity event thrown by a tech billionaire, and dropped it back on the pile. "Was I going to be consulted about any of this or am I expected to just show up and smile?"

"Of course you were, we're just trying to narrow it down first." She grabbed a printout from one of the piles and handed it to Stacie. "The CNN Heroes gala looks fun, and Gail is looking into getting you on a float at the Macy's parade."

"No parade." Gail opened her mouth to protest but Stacie didn't let her. "I don't want to be on a float, I want to be in bed with you and watch the parade there."

"Stacie." Aubrey admonished.

"It's fine, no float." Gail said flatly and crossed it out on her list. "I have to go, you guys can look at those together and let me know."

Stacie waited until Gail was gone to turn to Aubrey. "What the hell was that?"

"We were just talking through options, we weren't going to decide anything without talking to you."

"Right." Stacie scoffed and crossed her arms.

"Hey." Aubrey rubbed Stacie's forearm until she uncrossed her arms and let her take her hand. "I'm sorry, I didn't think you'd care."

She didn't care about what they did, really. She knew it was part of her job to attend these functions, and Aubrey kept telling her that to win a Tony she had to be seen as something more than just a movie star, which meant doing the rounds at various events with a different crowd than she was used to.

She knew Aubrey and Gail were just trying to look out for her and she didn't want to argue about it so she half smiled and squeezed Aubrey's hand. "It's fine."

Aubrey smiled and scooted closer to Stacie, kissing the corner of her mouth. "What are you doing here?"

"I was going to take you out to lunch."

"And you're not anymore?" Aubrey asked with a pout.

"Do you have time?" Stacie asked with fake coyness.

"For you? Always." Aubrey ran her nails down Stacie's neck. "But I'm not really hungry."

"Oh?" Stacie let Aubrey pull her down on top of her and kissed her deeply. Aubrey wrapped her leg around her hip, pressing Stacie closer and moaning into her mouth. Their kisses quickly escalating.

Stacie started unbuttoning Aubrey's shirt, panting against her mouth as she struggled with the buttons and capturing her lips again once she was done. Her fingers traveled down Aubrey's front, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her closer.

Aubrey's hands sneaked under the back of her shirt, her nails raking down her back making Stacie shudder. She broke the kiss for a second, looking deeply into Aubrey's eyes before resuming the kiss.

Aubrey cupped her cheeks. "Lock the door."

Stacie sprang up, almost tripping over the table with the invitations in her rush to get to the door and back, shedding her shirt before jumping back on top of Aubrey and straddling her with a large grin.

"We've never had sex here." Stacie knew Aubrey wasn't very adventurous when it came to sex outside of the bedroom, and she'd always been very strict about her office and being professional at work so, while she wasn't going to outright question this, she just wanted to make sure Aubrey was okay with it.

"I know." Aubrey smiled and popped open the button on Stacie's jeans, giving her all the answer she needed. "We have to be quiet, not everyone goes out for lunch at the same time."

"I can be quiet." Aubrey arched an eyebrow at her and Stacie shrugged. "I can try."

Stacie reached under Aubrey's skirt and pulled off her underwear. Kneeling between Aubrey's legs, she pulled her shirt open and ran her fingers down her abdomen before bending forward. She kissed the spot next to Aubrey's navel and bit down softly, eliciting a low moan from Aubrey.

Stacie chuckled and shushed her, scooting down and pushing Aubrey's legs apart. She kissed down her thigh, starting from her knee and pushing Aubrey's skirt up as she moved.

Aubrey moaned when Stacie reached the apex of her legs. Stacie shushed her again and Aubrey buried her hand in Stacie's hair. "Stop shushing me."

Stacie lifted her head. "Stop being loud."

"I'm not." Aubrey pushed her back down. Stacie smiled and pulled Aubrey closer by the hips.

Aubrey bit down on her lip hard to keep herself from making any sound. One of her hands moved up from the back of Stacie's head to her chest, squeezing her breast while the other one tugged on Stacie's hair to keep her close.

She lifted her leg over Stacie's shoulder and Stacie wrapped her arm around her thigh, her tongue moving faster against Aubrey making her tremble. Aubrey closed her eyes and threw her head back, unable to focus on anything other than Stacie and keeping her lips tightly closed. Her legs closed around Stacie's head, one of her heels digging into her back.

Stacie waited until Aubrey started to relax to move, kissing back up her body and smiling as Aubrey stretched against her. Aubrey grabbed her cheeks and kissed her, tangling their legs together and moving her hands down her torso.

Stacie moved her lips to Aubrey's jaw and moved up to her ear. "Wanna take this to your desk?"

"My desk?" Aubrey whimpered when Stacie nibbled on her earlobe. "There's stuff on it."

"We can move it."

Aubrey pulled Stacie back and kissed her. "The couch is more comfortable." Aubrey started pulling Stacie's jeans off. "I like the couch."

"But the desk is hotter." She kicked off her jeans and sat up, pulling Aubrey up with her.

Aubrey kept kissing Stacie, holding onto her shoulders. "I don't think I'd be able to focus on work ever again if you're naked on my desk."

"That's the point," Stacie said with a smirk.

Aubrey hummed thoughtfully. "Maybe-"

She was interrupted by a knock on the door and Ashley's voice. "I'm back!"

Aubrey sat back defeatedly. "Maybe we can do it some other time."

Stacie groaned and pressed her face against her chest. "Why?"

"I'm not having sex with my assistant sitting right outside the door." Aubrey chuckled, scratching the back of Stacie's head. Stacie looked up and pouted. "I'll make it up to you."

"You better."

Aubrey kissed her deeply, breaking the kiss some time later. "I will." She pecked her lips a few times. "I should get back to work."

She kissed Stacie one more time before standing up and turning to look for her underwear, handing Stacie her shirt. Stacie finished getting dressed and walked up to Aubrey while she buttoned up her shirt, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her close when she still had a few buttons to go.

"See you after my show?"

Aubrey nodded. "I'll get dinner and we can talk about this?" Aubrey motioned at the papers on the table.

"Yeah." Stacie tugged on the collar of Aubrey's shirt and kissed her cheek softly before letting her go and walking to the door. "Love ya."

Aubrey waved with a goofy smile and leaned on her desk. "Bye, I love you."

Ashley entered Aubrey's office right after Stacie walked out. "You got a call from-" She stopped and looked over Aubrey's appearance. "Had a nice lunch?"

"I did." Aubrey smiled dreamily and then noticed Ashley's look. "What?"

"Nothing, you just look happy." She pointed at her chest and Aubrey looked down at herself, noticing her half open shirt.

She spun away from Ashley and finished buttoning up her shirt. "I was hot."

"I see that."

"Shut up." Aubrey smoothed the front of her shirt and turned around. "You were saying?"

* * *

"Babe." Stacie walked into Aubrey's apartment confused that all the lights were out. She dropped her purse on the table and was about to turn on the light when Aubrey replied from inside the apartment.

"Dining room!"

Stacie figured there'd be a light on there so she didn't touch the light switch, making her way down the hall and noticed a faint glow coming from further inside. She smiled when she turned the corner and saw candles scattered around the dining room and on the table.

Aubrey came out of the kitchen holding a salad bowl. "Hey."

"Hey." Stacie waited until she put the bowl down on the table to take her hand and pull her closer. "What's this?"

"Dinner." Aubrey wrapped her arms around Stacie's neck and smiled. "I told you I'd make it up to you."

"So this is what I get for missing out on desk sex?" Stacie chuckled.

Aubrey shrugged. "You're always doing cute romantic things for me so I figured it was my turn." She kissed Stacie quickly and moved to pull back the nearest chair. "Sit, I'm almost done."

Stacie sat down and watched Aubrey walk back into the kitchen. She grabbed the wine bottle that was already on the table and poured two glasses before moving to serve the salad.

"What are you doing?" Aubrey took the salad bowl away from Stacie. "You're not supposed to serve things."

Stacie laughed. "Baby, this whole thing isn't going to be less romantic if I serve my own salad."

"But I want to do it."

Stacie dropped the utensils in the bowl and smiled. "Alright."

"Thank you." Aubrey kissed her and finished serving the salad before sitting down. "How did your show go?"

"Adam called in sick like an hour before curtain so that was fun. His standby was great though."

"What's wrong with Adam?"

Stacie shrugged, taking a bite of her salad. "Sore throat or something. He said he'll be back tomorrow." She waved her fork. "Did you make the dressing? It's really good."

"I did." Aubrey smiled and took Stacie's hand. "I wanted to apologize for today."

Stacie swallowed and shook her head. "It's okay, Bree. I get why we couldn't have sex with Ashley there. As long as this ends with sex, we're fine."

Stacie grinned and Aubrey shook her head. "No." Stacie frowned and Aubrey rolled her eyes, clearing up that last point before continuing. "Yes, we'll have sex." Stacie smiled relieved. "I mean, I'm not apologizing for the sex thing, I'm apologizing for not telling you I was meeting Gail. I didn't want you to be left out of anything, we were just trying to make it easier for you to decide which events you want to go to."

"I know, it's fine. I'm not mad." Stacie turned her hand up and squeezed Aubrey's hand. "And I've been thinking about that, actually."

"About?"

"Thanksgiving." Stacie grinned excitedly and scooted forward. "I don't have a show on Thursday, you're not working, so we could go spend Thanksgiving with my mom. We can fly down after my Wednesday show, fly back Friday. My brother's gonna be there with my niece."

"That's…" Aubrey nodded without looking at Stacie. "Yeah, sure."

Stacie tilted her head and frowned. "You hate it? You love my mom."

"I do, she's great," Aubrey said unconvincingly.

"But?" Stacie arched an eyebrow.

"I haven't seen her in years." Aubrey shrugged. "And I wasn't dating you back then."

Stacie rolled her eyes. "My mom loves you. She asks about you whenever we talk."

"Really?"

Stacie nodded, taking Aubrey's hand and lifting it. "She was really happy when we started dating. Well, when she thought we started dating." She kissed the back of Aubrey's hand. "Plus it will be nice to get out of the city, get away from the cameras and the fans and the PR stunts, just be us for a couple of days."

Aubrey tugged her hand. "That sounds nice."

Stacie leaned closer and kissed her softly. "We can make out in my old bedroom, under my NSYNC poster."

Aubrey scrunched up her nose. "I was more of a Backstreet Boys girl."

Stacie moved back a little and narrowed her eyes. "I guess I can overlook that."

Aubrey smiled and cupped Stacie's cheek. "I'd love to spend Thanksgiving with your family."


	19. Chapter 19

_**Celebrity Thanksgivings** _

_[...]_

_Stacie Conrad was spotted at JFK Wednesday night with girlfriend, Aubrey Posen, reportedly going home for the holidays and going on a social media blackout for the entire weekend, except for a tweet on Thursday that just read "Happy Thanksgiving!" She was back in New York for her show Friday evening._

_[...]_

* * *

Aubrey kept her eyes closed even though she could feel Stacie stirring behind her. She didn't know what time it was, but she knew it was early because she'd set the alarm to watch the parade and it hadn't gone off yet. She felt a hand travel down her side until it reached her waist, sneaking under the hem of her tank top and brushing idle circles against her skin.

"Morning," Aubrey mumbled and scooted closer, although there really wasn't a lot of space between them to begin with, and covered Stacie's hand, lacing their fingers.

"Good morning." Stacie squeezed her hand and kissed her cheek. "How did you sleep?"

Aubrey blinked her eyes open, chuckling at the sight of Justin Timberlake's face on the wall, and rolled over to face Stacie. "Your bed is a little small."

"It's a full."

"It's tiny." Aubrey rolled over with some difficulty, trying not to fall over the side, and pecked her lips. "But I don't mind cuddling close."

Stacie smiled, wrapping her arms tightly around Aubrey and nudging her nose with her own before kissing her deeply.

They'd flown down to Pennsylvania the previous day, right after Stacie's show, and arrived at Stacie's childhood home after midnight. It was an unremarkable house, just like the all other houses in that unremarkable street of suburban Pittsburgh, and Stacie loved it for it.

Stacie's mom greeted them at the door, hugging Aubrey tighter than her own mother would, and helped them take their things up to Stacie's room. Stacie flopped down on her bed immediately, completely exhausted, but Aubrey took some time to look over the various things on Stacie's shelves.

One of her bookcases was packed with movies, several old classics and some newer, more popular stuff; some of which, clearly Stacie's favorites, Aubrey had also seen in her New York apartment. But what caught her attention was Stacie's books. She had some plays, a few of which looked like they'd had a rough time in her schoolbag when she was in them in high school, but there was a whole section at the bottom filled with science fiction and fantasy books. She'd known for a long time that Stacie was a nerd, but she hadn't questioned until now why she'd never done a science fiction movie, but before she could give it more thought, Stacie mumbled to join her in bed.

Stacie broke the kiss, brushing back Aubrey's hair. "Do you wanna go watch the parade in the living room?" Stacie asked, rolling away when Aubrey's alarm started beeping to grab her phone and turn it off. "I can make hot chocolate."

Aubrey stretched, running her hand down Stacie's back. "With marshmallows?"

"Sure, if I can find them." Stacie smiled at her over her shoulder and sat up. "Come on."

Aubrey followed Stacie out of the room, stopping when they got to the stairs to look at the pictures on the wall. She ran her finger down the frame of an old picture of Stacie as a little kid opening a present next to a Christmas tree, with a huge smile on her face. She kept moving down, passing a picture from Stacie's high school graduation and one from her Juilliard graduation.

"Babe?" Stacie appeared at the foot of the stairs looking at Aubrey expectantly. "What are you doing?"

"I was just looking at these." Aubrey pointed at the pictures and smiled. "You were cute."

Stacie took her hand and scoffed. "I'm still cute."

"Well, you were cuter."

"We can't all age as well as you." She kissed her cheek, tugging her the rest of the way down and into the living room. She pushed her down to sit on the couch, handing her a blanket and the TV remote before disappearing into the kitchen.

Aubrey pulled her feet up on the couch, wrapped the blanket around herself, and moved one of the cushions to the side. There was a faint, old stain on the cushion, like someone spilled something some time ago and failed to get it off. Maybe they always placed it with the stain facing the couch and Aubrey only noticed it because she picked it up, but it was something that her family would've never allowed to happen, let alone remain in their pristine living room.

"I found marshmallows!" Stacie came back in, carrying two mugs and placing them on the coffee table before turning to Aubrey with a big smile.

Aubrey scooted forward to make room for Stacie behind her, and leaned back once Stacie was seated, tossing the cushion aside and grabbing the mugs Stacie had put down.

Stacie reached around her and turned the cushion so the stain was facing the couch. "My brother spilled pasta sauce on that forever ago."

She took her mug and wrapped her free arm around Aubrey, taking the remote from her and turning the TV on. "I can't believe there's not gonna be a Snoopy balloon this year."

"What happened to Snoopy?" Aubrey pouted.

"Aww, baby." Stacie placed a sticky kiss on the corner of her mouth. "Apparently Charlie Brown hasn't been in the parade in a while so they're using him instead."

Aubrey frowned. "Charlie Brown is dumb."

"He is." Stacie chuckled and tightened her grip around Aubrey. She nuzzled the spot behind her ear and kissed her. "I love you."

Aubrey took her mug and placed it back on the table next to hers. She twisted around, cupping Stacie's cheek and capturing her lips, smiling when she tasted the sweetness of the hot chocolate.

Stacie wrapped the other arm around her and pulled her closer, deepening the kiss. Aubrey tried hard to not get too carried away despite the insistent tug of Stacie's hands against her waist and the shiver that went down her spine when Stacie nibbled on her lower lip.

Stacie smiled and shifted under Aubrey, pulling her onto her lap and burying her hands in her hair, making her forget why she was trying to hold back.

"Morning, girls." Aubrey jumped off Stacie at the sound of her mom's voice, quickly rearranging her shirt into some semblance of decency. "How did you sleep?" She smiled at them before disappearing into the kitchen.

"Aubrey thinks my bed is too small." Stacie replied loudly so her mom could hear her in the kitchen and Aubrey elbowed her.

"It was fine," Aubrey interjected, shaking her head.

"I told you I could fix the guest room for you guys but you said no." Stacie's mom came out of the kitchen. "What do you want for breakfast?"

"Pancakes!" Stacie said excitedly and looked at Aubrey who merely raised an eyebrow. "And fruit?"

"Pancakes and fruit coming up." Stacie's mom replied with a chuckle and went back into the kitchen.

"Thanks mom!"

Aubrey cupped Stacie's cheeks and kissed her quickly. "I'm gonna go help."

Stacie pouted. "But you're gonna miss the parade!"

"I'll be back before it's over."

"Fine." Stacie pecked her lips and grinned. "Make mine with chocolate chips!"

Aubrey rolled her eyes and walked into the kitchen, pausing for a second before joining Stacie's mom. "What can I help with?"

The older woman turned from her spot in front of the fridge and shook her head. "I'm fine, go watch the parade."

Aubrey ignored her and moved closer. "I can start cutting up the fruit?"

Stacie's mom gave her a stern, but warm look. "You're a guest."

"I'm from the south." Aubrey tilted her head and gave her a lopsided smile, noting the exact moment the older woman realized she wouldn't go, handing her half a melon from the fridge.

"Do you like pears? You can grab a couple." She pointed at a fruit bowl on the counter. "Just don't take the apples, I'm making a pie later."

Aubrey nodded and grabbed a pear, hesitating for a moment before opening a drawer looking for a knife.

"Next one on the right," Stacie's mom interrupted her. "And the cutting board is on the cabinet over the sink."

Aubrey started cutting up the fruit in silence. She didn't really know how to act around Stacie's mom. They'd met when Stacie was shooting the movie she was producing. She had gone to visit the set towards the end of the production and Stacie's mom had been staying with her at the time. They'd all gone to dinner after Stacie finished shooting for the day and it had been great.

But that was before, back when Aubrey had just been Stacie's friend. Everything was different now: she was in her home, she'd been photographed multiple times kissing her daughter, she was sleeping with her… And still, she'd been nothing but nice since they got there. Not that Aubrey expected her to be mean or anything, but she seemed to genuinely like her.

"Pass me a wooden spoon?"

Aubrey reached for a spoon from the large vase with utensils on the counter in front of her and placed it on the kitchen island where all the ingredients for the pancakes were already laid out. Aubrey patted the bag of chocolate chips. "Stacie wanted chocolate chips on hers."

"I figured." The older woman rolled her eyes. "I don't know how she stays in shape with the amount of food she eats."

"I've been trying to get her to eat healthier." Aubrey shrugged and turned back to the fruit.

"I tried for 18 years." Stacie's mom scoffed commiseratingly. "I'm just glad she found someone she'll finally listen to."

Aubrey threw her a smile over her shoulder and went back to cutting up the fruit. She was almost done when she heard the front door open, followed by a staccato of footsteps and a squeal.

"Munchkin!" Aubrey heard Stacie yell. A series of giggles followed shortly after and then Stacie opened the kitchen door, holding a little girl in her arms.

"Grandma, someone's here for you." Stacie announced, stopping when she got to Aubrey and nodding at her with her head. "Chris, this is my girlfriend, Aubrey. Say hi."

The girl, who'd been staring at Aubrey curiously, smiled tentatively and waved her hand. Aubrey smiled back and took a step closer. "Hey, Christine. We're making pancakes, do you want some?"

The girl started nodding when someone else entered the kitchen. Stacie's brother didn't exactly look like her, but you could tell they were related, especially when they smiled. He was slightly taller, handsome but not really hot, and his hair was a shade lighter than Stacie's. "We ate at home, didn't we Chris?"

The girl pouted and nodded, but Stacie squeezed her closer. "You can have a bite of mine."

"Do I get pancakes?" He said mockingly and turned to Aubrey. "You must be the hunter tamer."

"Please don't call her that," Stacie said and elbowed him in the stomach. "Babe, this is Joe, my annoying big brother."

"Also known as the better looking Conrad." He winked at Aubrey and held out his hand.

Aubrey chuckled and shook his hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Where's your lovely wife?" Stacie said with an exaggeratedly sweet smile.

"She's with her parents. I know you're sad you missed her but since you decided to come last minute and I couldn't miss my baby sister..." Joe turned to Aubrey and stage whispered. "Stacie doesn't like Beth."

"I like her fine!" Stacie put the girl down and nudged her to the living room, closing the door behind her. "She just insists on talking about my movies and all the people I know and it's exhausting."

"So Aubrey can't ask me about my job?"

"It's not the same." Stacie narrowed her eyes at him.

"It kinda is," Aubrey added, causing Stacie to turn to her affronted. "What else do you want to talk about then?"

"I don't know!" Stacie glared at both of them. "I'm gonna go watch the parade with my niece who seems to be the only person in this house who's nice."

"I didn't say anything," Stacie's mom said from her spot on the counter. "And I'm making your pancakes."

"You're nice too, mom." Stacie grumbled. "But everyone else…" She glared one last time at her brother and walked out of the kitchen.

Joe watched her walk away with an amused smile and then turned to Aubrey. "She really is that good in bed, huh?"

"Joseph, don't be crass." Her mom hit him with a hand towel. "Finish cutting that fruit please."

"Oh, it's fine, I can-"

Joe grabbed the knife from her hand and shook his head. "Go. Stacie's probably still pouting out there."

Aubrey smiled at him and relented. "Thank you."

Aubrey was surprised to find Stacie by herself when she got to the living room, her arms crossed and definitely pouting at the television.

"Hey, grumpy." Aubrey nudged her forward and sat down behind her, wrapping her arms around her waist and nuzzling her cheek. "Where's Chris?"

"Bathroom." Stacie replied. She still sounded annoyed but she took Aubrey's hands and pulled her closer. "I think the performances are coming up next."

Aubrey smiled and kissed Stacie's cheek. "We should go to a show sometime."

Stacie turned her head and captured Aubrey's lips. "I kinda have to work at that time."

"Oh right…" Aubrey pursed her lips and pretended to think about it. "I should go to a show sometime."

"Hey!" Stacie turned, kneeling on the couch in front of Aubrey. She kissed her a few times. "You should go to my show."

"I've seen that already," Aubrey said with a cheeky grin and pecked Stacie's lips.

"It's the best show on Broadway," Stacie nodded seriously. "Besides, you get a special, all-access pass." She leaned forward to whisper in Aubrey's ear. "And you get an exclusive-"

"Spongebob!" Christine had apparently returned from the bathroom and was standing by the kitchen door.

Aubrey pushed Stacie back with a smirk. "Hold that thought."

* * *

Standing by the door between the kitchen and the dining room, Aubrey watched as Stacie helped her niece with a puzzle. Dinner had been great, Aubrey had insisted on helping Stacie's mom with the preparations while Stacie and her brother watched Christine and made their special Thanksgiving punch - which consisted of a lot of vodka and seemingly random fruit juices.

After dinner, Stacie and Joe had cleaned up while Aubrey helped Christine start separating the edge pieces in her puzzle. Aubrey had stepped into the kitchen to refill her hot chocolate mug when Stacie joined them, stopping to watch them both as she came back out.

She'd never really noticed how much Stacie had changed in the time she'd known her, but seeing her here, with her family, she acted a lot like she did when they first met. If someone had asked Aubrey what was different about Stacie, she wouldn't be able to pinpoint it. It wasn't really about the way she acted, Stacie was notoriously unapologetic about everything she said and did, but everywhere else, especially when they were in a public setting, there was always something slightly off. It was almost as if she was playing herself in a movie. But here, with her family, it was as if Stacie Conrad the actress, even the tiny bit that was still present when she and Aubrey were alone, was gone.

Aubrey wasn't sure if Stacie even noticed this. Aubrey knew Stacie loved her job, and that she understood that being in the public eye was part of it. She enjoyed the attention that came with being an internationally recognized star, and she even craved it, but Aubrey wondered if this was why Stacie had insisted they come over for the holidays instead of spending the day at the parade and a soup kitchen. Maybe she just needed a break from being that person.

Almost as if on cue, her phone chirped alerting her of an incoming text from Gail. She was wondering why Stacie hadn't tweeted or instagrammed anything today and wanted Aubrey to do something about it.

Aubrey looked up at Stacie and Christine again, smiling at how Stacie was just shuffling up the pieces instead of helping find the right ones while Christine tried to stop her. She didn't want to interrupt, at least not for this, but she knew Gail would text her again or call if she didn't at least get Stacie to tweet.

She got a brief respite from having to make a choice when Joe stepped out of the kitchen, drying his hands on a dish towel and nodding at Stacie and his daughter. "You really love that dork, then?"

Aubrey chuckled, tearing her eyes away from Stacie who was now randomly moving pieces from one side of the table to the other, and looked at Joe. "I really do."

He smiled. "You're really good for her."

"Thanks." Aubrey scrunched up her nose, not really knowing how to respond to the unexpected comment. "She's good for me, too. We balance each other out, I guess."

Joe was looking at Stacie and had gone silent as he thought something over. He opened his mouth and then closed it as if he'd changed his mind about what he was gonna say.

"What?" Aubrey asked, tilting her head.

He smirked. "It's just that I really like you, and I don't want to sound like the cliché older brother but…"

"If I hurt her you'll kill me?"

"No." He chuckled and shook his head. "Just... stick around."

Aubrey frowned, a little bit confused. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Daddy! Auntie Stacie's cheating." Christine whined from the other side of the room.

"I've warned you about her." Joe shook his head in mock disapproval and walked over to the table.

"It's a puzzle! How would I even cheat?" Aubrey crossed over to where Stacie was and stepped behind her, placing her hands on her shoulders. "I was just trying to find a better way to sort all these pieces." Christine glared at her the way only a five year old can and Stacie burst out laughing. "I'm sorry! I'll stop. Come on, I'll help you for real this time."

She rolled her eyes. "Fine."

Aubrey leaned forward. "Where's your phone? I wanna take a picture."

Stacie shrugged. "Probably in my room. Why don't you use yours?"

"Because I can't post it on your twitter if I use mine." Stacie frowned and looked up at her. "You should make a holiday post."

"I'm fine." Stacie turned back to the puzzle and grabbed a random piece. "Where do you think this one goes, Chris?"

"Stace?" Aubrey tried again.

"Babe, if you wanna tweet something, get my phone and do it. I really don't care about that right now."

Aubrey took a deep breath. She knew Stacie wasn't really thinking about her PR strategy right now, and that her priority was being with her family, she wasn't being purposefully difficult about it. "Fine."

Aubrey went up to Stacie's room, finding her phone on her side table. She clicked it on, ignoring the multiple notifications and texts that had accumulated during the day, and opening the twitter app. She wrote a quick tweet while she made her way back downstairs, knowing she wouldn't get Stacie to agree to actually get involved.

"You have a bunch of texts," Aubrey said, putting the phone on the table next to Stacie and taking the chair on her right, leaning forward to look at the puzzle and grab a piece.

Stacie glanced at her phone quickly but didn't pick it up, reaching in front of Aubrey to put down the piece she had in her hand. "Thanks."

Christine walked over from the other side of the table, tugging on Aubrey's sleeve. "Do you wanna sit on my lap?"

The girl nodded and Aubrey pulled her up, sitting her on her lap with her arms around her so she could still reach the table.

"I'll be right back." Stacie stood up, ruffling the girl's hair before walking away. Aubrey watched her walk into the kitchen, wondering if she should follow her but Christine distracted her, nudging her hand so she could look at the puzzle.

Stacie didn't return until later, followed by her brother. "Chris, we're leaving."

"But the puzzle!" Christine pouted and looked at the half finished puzzle.

"You can come back and finish it tomorrow, it's late."

The girl turned to look at Aubrey. "Are you going to be here tomorrow?"

"We're leaving early tomorrow, sweetie, but you can send me a picture when you finish it."

Christine thought about it for a few seconds and nodded. "Alright."

She threw her arms around Aubrey quickly and jumped off her lap, going up to Stacie to hug her goodbye. Joe approached Aubrey with a smile. "It was nice to meet you."

"Yeah, you too."

He hugged her, surprising Aubrey slightly. "Hopefully you can come for Christmas too."

Aubrey smiled, looking at Stacie to check her reaction but she was busy with her niece. "I think Stace has a show on Christmas Day."

"You don't have to bring her." He winked and turned to grab his daughter, leading her to the door.

Aubrey approached Stacie, taking her hand and smiling when she wrapped her arms around her. "Bed?"

Stacie nodded, letting her go and leading her to the stairs. She stopped before getting to her room, tugging Aubrey's hand lightly. "I'm gonna stay in the guest room so you can sleep."

Aubrey frowned. "It's fine, I don't mind sharing your bed."

"I know, but we have to get up early tomorrow and I have a show tomorrow night. We'll sleep better this way."

Tilting her head, Aubrey narrowed her eyes and took a step closer to Stacie. "Are you sure?"

Stacie nodded, pecking Aubrey's lips quickly. "Goodnight."


End file.
